Police in Burera District is holding a woman identified as Beata Uwikunda, 20(photo below), suspected of kidnapping a baby of only five months and crossed over to Uganda with the baby.
The suspect has confessed to kidnapping the baby.
Investigations by Police revealed that Uwikunda kidnapped the baby from Eglise Episcopale du Rwanda (EER) Maya and crossed Cyanika border to Kisoro in Uganda.
She revealed that her actions were due to curative reasons as advised by a witchdoctor based in Uganda. The suspect is currently held at Gahunga Police Station.
Police sources in Burera point out that when the mother and the congregation realized the baby was missing, they immediately reported the incident to local authorities, the community Radio and Gahunga Police station.
Gahunga Police station informed Uganda Police of the incident with the description and names of the suspect.
According to article 9 of the Rwandan Penal Code, any offence committed on the Rwandan territory by either a Rwandan or a foreigner shall be punished by Rwandan law, except diplomatic immunity guaranteed by International conventions.
Uganda Police acted upon their Rwandan counterparts request and agreed to transfer the suspect back to Rwanda. Uwitonda was handed over to Rwanda National Police at Cyanika Border.
If guilty, Uwikunda will likely serve 7 to 10 years in prison and be liable to a fine ranging between 500,000 to 5 million according to article 258 of the Rwandan Penal Code.
Leave a Reply