Girl, 19, arrested after a baby's body is found in pit latrine

Shocked members of public move closer to the latrine where a 19-year-old girl threw her two-week old baby in Masiebi village, Matayos constituency. [Ignatius Odanga/Standard] 

Police in Busia are holding a 19-year-old girl suspected of throwing her two-week-old baby in a pit latrine in Masiebi village, Matayos Constituency.

According to the officers, the girl led them to the 30-foot latrine on Friday, where the body of the baby was removed. The body had been in the pit for two days.

The girl is said to have told police officers investigating the matter that her father threw her out of their home after she delivered the baby, telling her to go stay with the person that impregnated her.

She added that she went to the home of her boyfriend, but who also threw her out, denying that he fathered the baby.

Police are investigating the claims. “We intend to find out everything that transpired before the baby was thrown into the pit latrine,” said Daniel Muleli, the County Criminal Investigation Officer.

The girl is being held at Busia police station. Police say she could face murder charges once investigations are complete. 

Mary Makokha, the director of Rural Education and Economic Enhancement Programme, a women's and girls' rights group in Busia County, appealed to parents not to reject daughters who conceive, but to support them after delivery.

"If the father could have welcomed the girl with the baby after delivering in hospital, the baby would not have been thrown into the latrine,” said Makokha.