Suspected baby thief arrested

BUGERERE - Criminal Investigative Department (CID) has detained a 24-year-old woman identified as Alice Kabuhire for allegedly stealing a three-month baby, Sunday Times can reliably report. She was arrested in Kangurumira in Bugerere Central in the East of Uganda. She was with her younger sister who claims that the baby belongs to her. “Uganda’s Interpol arrested me on claims that I had stolen a baby,” Kabuhire said at CID Headquarters yesterday. She said that they crossed to Uganda via Cyanika-Ruhengeri border and registered her younger sister and the baby in question. Speaking to Sunday Times, Sylvia Kampire, 17, insisted that the baby belonged to her and that she bore it on September 16, 2008 in Kivumu Health Centre in Muhanga District. Identifying the baby as Diane Niyonshuti, Kampire has sworn not to part with it. “This is my child. Its father is Fabien Misago. I am ready for anything that will prove that this baby is mine,” she said. Another lady identified as Claudine Nyirigira who lost a baby said that she could not confirm whether the three-month old baby belongs to her but requested for a DNA test. Nyirigira however claims that there are people who saw Alice Kabuhire, the suspected baby thief, in Rwanda at the time when she lost her baby. “My maid told me that this woman came claiming to be my colleague and later sent her to a nearby shop only to return and find the baby missing,” the worried lady told The New Times. A reliable source at CID said that some people have reported that Alice Kabuhire reportedly asked for babies to buy at Rwf200,000 before she left for Uganda. According to Police, due to the insistence by both ladies claiming to be the baby’s mother, they will undergo DNA testing to verify who the real mother is. In an interview with Supt. Tony Kulamba in-charge of Interpol, he confirmed that they are considering DNA tests as the investigation is still going on. In a related development, a 15-year-old boy identified as Frank Hagirimana was also returned to Rwanda from Uganda to be reunited with his parents. Uganda’s police arrested Scovia Mbabazi, 28, foiling her attempt to sell him at a price of Shs23m. Mbabazi’s arrest comes as the Police intensify the hunt for Kampala tycoon Kato Kajubi over a gruesome ritual murder in Masaka district. Kulamba says that these are the first cases of child trafficking received at his office. He warned parents against neglecting their children’s safety. Ends