Police in Bwera are investigating the death of a four-year-old girl in Kasese District after she allegedly took a bottle of juice given to her by a relative.
The deceased has been identified as Musoki Leticia, a resident of Kamuruli Village, Kagando Parish, Kisinga Sub-county.
According to police, the incident happened on Monday at about 10am when the girl’s 10-year-old stepbrother, Mumbere Lodrick, gave her the juice in the absence of their parents.
Police said Lodrick had allegedly been given the bottle by his aunt, Mbabazi Mary, while returning from his grandparents’ home in Kiyenge Village, Kitabu Sub-county.
Mbabazi allegedly instructed Lodrick to give the juice specifically to Leticia and cautioned him against tasting it. She reportedly gave him Shs1,000 to buy his own juice from Kiburara Trading Centre.
“After the deceased took the alleged juice, she went to sleep. When her mother returned home, she woke her up but she was not responding,” police said in a statement issued by the Rwenzori East regional police spokesperson, ASP Elly Maate.
The girl was rushed to Kagando Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Her body was subsequently taken to Muhokya Sub-county for burial. However, the circumstances surrounding her death raised suspicion, prompting the area chairperson to report the matter to Kiburara Police Station on Tuesday.
Police said Mbabazi and Lodrick were subsequently taken into custody for questioning.
Investigators examined and documented the scene, recorded statements from witnesses and retrieved the child’s body from Muhokya for a postmortem examination at Bwera Hospital.
Police also recovered the empty juice bottle and samples of vomit for toxicological analysis.
“Investigations into the matter are still ongoing,” ASP Maate said.
