In Lufigi village, Madenge Parish, Bubyangu Sub-County, Mbale District, the police successfully rescued a two-month-old baby from a shrine. The infant had been taken from her biological parents by a peasant woman named Sarah Nambuya, who allegedly intended to sacrifice the child.
Authorities discovered the victim, named Ronia Nabagye, crying inside a sack at the shrine. Ronia is the daughter of Mr. Nansuru Wadada, 55, and Ms. Zadina Nambuya, 35, both residents of the same village, according to SP Rogers Taitika, the Elgon Regional Police Spokesperson.
The incident unfolded on July 4, 2023, when Mr. Wadada and Ms. Nambuya left their daughter at home with other children while they went to the garden around 7 am. Sarah Nambuya, the suspect, visited the couple’s home and found the children playing. She provided them with money to buy soda and chapati, instructing them to leave the baby, who was sleeping alone, inside the house. Sarah then took the infant to her brother’s shrine in the vicinity.
Upon receiving information about the crime, the police swiftly arrived at the scene and rescued the baby. It was discovered that the suspects, Sarah Nambuya and Hussein Lugoli, were relatives and believed to have taken the child for sacrificial purposes.
Statements were obtained from the baby’s parents and relevant witnesses, and the exhibit—a sack used to transport the victim—was recovered. While the suspect has been apprehended, her brother, Hussein Lugoli, a witchdoctor, remains at large, according to SP Taitika.
The police have opened a file for Child Stealing under Bufumbo Police post SD REF 11/04/07/2023, which has been registered as Mbale CRB 291/2023.