Police in Rakai district are holding a 52-year-old housemaid on suspicion of having adulterated food which she served to the family, leading to the death of the housewife and hospitalisation of six other family members.
Peace Naturinda, who has for the last about two months been working as a housemaid in the home of Lucerere LC I chairman George Munyaneza in Kiziba sub-county in Rakai district, is said to have laced with poison porridge she prepared for the family.
The dead housewife is identified as Margaret Masabbuuni (47), a wife to the village chairperson, George Munyaneza. According to the herdsman in the home called Isaac Nuwagaba, the suspicion is based on the fact that Naturinda and her young child did not take the porridge which is suspected to be the cause of the problem.
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Speaking from his hospital bed on Wednesday, Nuwagaba said on Tuesday, the family followed the daily routine of going to their respective chores while Naturinda proceeded with preparing the porridge.
“I led the family children to go and graze the cows while their mother went to her garden and at around 2.00pm, we all retired home to take porridge as usual,” he said.
Narrating their ordeal, Nuwagaba said after taking the porridge served in their buckets, everybody fell asleep feeling extraordinarily weak, and that by 8:00pm, the situation worsened with everybody vomiting profusely, whereupon neighbours rushed them to hospital.
“Unfortunately, by the time we got to hospital, Maama was declared dead and the rest of us were admitted; luckily, our boss, the chairperson who is the family head was away and did not take the porridge”, Nuwagaba said further.
Accusing fingers were pointed at Naturinda because according to the herdsman, she kept blocking her child from coming anywhere near the family as they took porridge although they normally take meals together.
Contacted over the matter, Munyaneza said he received the tragic news in his home on phone, and he highly suspects jealous neighbours could have used the housemaid to try to wipe away his family because of his prosperity by way of material wealth.
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Maska region police spokesperson Twaha Kasirye confirmed the incident and although he could not divulge much information to avoid jeopardising investigations, he said Naturinda was arrested as the supreme suspect on the grounds that she and her child were not affected by the poisoning.
Among sympathizers who visited the family in hospital was Rakai district chairperson, Umar Ssebalinde who condemned the act, and appealed to police to leave no stone unturned in the bid to see justice to be done.