Rwanda National Police

Police calls upon the general public to desist from acts of child neglect which may attract criminal charges on an individual found in the act.

The call follows an incident in Karongi District, Rubengera Sector on January 5, where a woman identified as Honorine Mukangenzi, 22, abandoned her baby of seven days old and fled without a trace.

The baby was found by a neighbor, Collette Bazubangira, who swiftly returned the child to the parents of the woman.

While Police is investigating to find the whereabouts of the woman, the Superintendent of Police, Emmanuel Hitayezu, Police Spokesman for Western province, cautioned the public, saying that child abandonment should never be an option for any individual regardless of the circumstances.

“This immoral and inhuman act should not be tolerated. Those who do not want to have children must use protection or other family planning methods that are readily available in Rwanda,” he said.

“I commend the good Samaritans who find children who are abandoned and return them to their rightful homes or report to police.”

Upon receiving his granddaughter, Pascal Ngirumugabe, the father of Mukangenzi, expressed his surprise about his daughter’s actions, saying that she had not earlier shown any motive for her actions.

“I accepted my daughter even when she got pregnant at a tender age of 22 before she was married; this action surprised the whole family and I just hope she comes back to her senses wherever she is,” he said.

Article 231 of the Penal Code stipulates that  a parent or a guardian who abandons or causes to be abandoned, neglects or causes to be neglected a child in an open place and is found shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of two years to five years and a fine of Rwf20,000 to Rwf100,000.