NAMASUBA – Police in Kampala are investigating allegations that a four-year-old girl, who was found dead at a daycare centre, could have been battered to death by her caretakers.
The lifeless body of Natasha Tendo’s body was picked up by police from Talitha Day and Night Care Centre in Namasuba Zone on Entebbe Road on Monday.
The deceased’s body was said to have been found with a big wound on the head, compelling police to arrest the school owner, Carol Mirembe.
Police sources investigating the case say whereas Mirembe first claimed the baby had been dumped at the centre, she later contradicted herself, raising suspicion that she may have had a hand in the murder.
According to sources, Ms Mirembe, who is currently held at Katwe police station, also claimed that the girl was playing with others when all of a sudden she went mute.
When contacted, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango confirmed the case.
The [daycare centre] owner has told us that the child was dumped at the place and she was the one taking care of her. We are trying to investigate the matter and her parents,” Mr Onyango said in an interview.
However, he said investigations are underway and refused to provide more details.
“Before the postmortem, regard any information about this girl’s cause of death as speculation,” he added.
However, sources intimated to this website that the child was left under the care of Mirembe by her parents who went abroad for work (kyeyo), the reason no one has come to claim the body since they may not have heard of the sad news.
Police sources added that three neighbours of the care centre have recorded statements pinning Ms Mirembe and her workers on mistreating children.
“It is not true that the mother dumped the child at this school. It was an agreement between [Ms] Mirembe and its mother before she went to work abroad. That woman has been banging the child on walls and we often alerted police but it did nothing,” a witness statement seen by this website at police says.
Another witness is said to have told police that Tendo was severally hit on wall on a fateful day, leading to her demise.
