A young student of 18 years was arrested over killing her own baby in the morning of Monday, July 7th in Murama Sector, Ngoma District. According to Charles Mugirwanake, the executive secretary of Murama Sector in Ngoma, they were alerted by a woman who found the baby in her coffee plantation. Preliminary investigations established that and the deceased infant belonged to a girl who was pregnant in the neighbourhood. “The girl confessed to having given birth at around 3am in the morning and later throwing the baby in the coffee plantation, after killing it.” The New Times spoke to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) spokesperson, Thierry Murangira, who confirmed the incident and said they were still investigating. “She is an 18 year-old who gave birth to a baby boy and immediately killed him in a horrible way.” Currently, the girl (names withheld) is receiving medical attention at the hospital as she gave birth without any assistance and then went to usual business in bid to conceal the act, he said “She will be taken, after healing, into custody and further procedures according to the law.” The body was taken to the Rwanda Forensic Laboratory for post mortem, Murangira said. The young girl was a primary six student at Groupe Scolaire de Mvumba and according to the Executive Secretary, she regularly attended classes throughout her pregnancy. “She even did exams just like others.” However, her parents denied that they were aware of their daughter’s pregnancy, he added. “Her parents said that she successfully hid the pregnancy,” added Mugirwanake. He says that this case is the first of its kind in the sector but there are several other young girls who gave birth and continued on with their lives, therefore, this calls for more effort invested in sexual reproductive health awareness.
