Keddi Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Butebo district, has called upon the police to locate and apprehend two parents who subjected their own six-year-old son to severe burns. The father and his co-wife, whose identities are being withheld, carried out the gruesome act in Butebo district in June this year.
They allegedly tied their child’s hands and body with dry banana leaves, doused him with kerosene, and set him on fire for alleged theft of sauce from a saucepan. It was the quick intervention of local residents that saved him, as they extinguished the flames and rushed him to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
The child sustained serious burns on his hands and back from the ordeal. The responsibility for the child’s medical expenses and care was taken over by the Ebenezer Child Ministry Foundation, a non-government organization based in Kibuku, as the child’s biological mother lacked the means to provide for him.
Sylvia Demba, an executive leader of Ebenezer Child Ministry, explained that after the child’s recovery, they chose to rehabilitate him at their center. They are awaiting funds, including 2 million Shillings, to facilitate an operation at Mulago Hospital, as recommended by doctors at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
Over the weekend, Stephen Nakeddi, the Executive director of the Keddi Foundation, delivered a donation of 2 million Shillings, along with items like sugar, clothes, and soap, to the victim at the Ebenezer Child Ministry Foundation offices in Kibuku town council. Nakeddi urged the police to locate and arrest the child’s biological father and stepmother for their criminal actions.
He emphasized that their abusive behavior and attempted murder of the child violated his rights and went against the law. Nakeddi also pledged that his organization would cover all medical bills before and after the surgery. Furthermore, the child would receive free education up until university level under their care.
Meanwhile, Emily Alaso Immaculate, the spokesperson for Bukiedi North police, disclosed that the parents responsible for the incident are still at large, saying the police are actively pursuing them in an effort to bring them to justice.
By Ronnie Weswa
