Rwanda National Police

A 23-year old woman identified as Consolee Nyiranshimimana has been arrested in Mageragere Sector of Nyarugenge District for allegedly breaking into the house at night where she stole a two-year old baby.

The unusual incident happened at about 3am on Saturday when Nyiranshimimana entered the house of Charlotte Mukarukundo and took the baby as the mother was in deep sleep.

Mukarukundo, a single mother, and Nyiranshimimana were previously housemates.

However, it is said that recently, Nyiranshimimana took Mukarukundo to a traditional healer in Kagarama in Kicukiro District to treat the infant of a tooth disease locally known as ibyinyo.

Mukarukundo, however, couldn’t afford the traditional healer’s financial demands, and off she returned home. Nyiranshimimana never returned home.

In the night of Friday, Mukarukundo was taken of sleep by someone, who entered into the house, took the child from her side, and fled.

All Mukarukundo could do was to make an alarm, which woke up neighboring families, they alerted the police and jointly started the search.

“After about six hours of search, Police and the residents found Nyiranshimimana hiding in an old house in Nyarurenzi Village of Nyarurenzi Cell in Mageragere with the baby,” Supt. Emmanuel Hitayezu, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said.

“She found herself in between different groups that joined police in the search, and she hid in the abandoned old house,” he added, crediting the role of public partnership and neighbourhood watch.

“This is criminal act of abduction as stated in article 224 of the penal code. Police is still investigating the main motive of abduction to make a conclusive case file to be forwarded to prosecution for further legal proceedings,” the spokesperson said.

Article 224 states that any person, who abducts a child from parents or guardians, or where the child habitually resides, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of one to three years and a fine of between Rwf50, 000 and Rwf500, 000.

Supt. Hitayezu also advised parents to always take their children to health centres of hospitals rather than believing in myths of lay medical practitioners, which can be dangerous to the children.

Believed to cure a tooth disease known as ibyinyo, traditional healers and parents have been subjecting their young children to this illegal and dangerous procedure.

Medics say ibyinyo is the natural teething stage that all babies go through, beginning at around six months of age.

While teething in babies causes mouth pain, fevers, and sometimes even vomiting or diarrhea, prematurely extracting the teeth is not a cure, according to health experts, and cause serious permanent damage to the child.