CID probes death of newly wedded bride seeking contraception

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID has kicked off investigations into a strange incident in which a freshly wedded woman died from hospital in an attempt to have a contraceptive procedure.

Charles Twiine, the CID spokesperson has identified the deceased as Joana Namutebi, who on Friday last week officially wedded at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala.

Police preliminary findings have indicated that the couple held their reception at Sheraton Hotel and spent the same night there in preparation to go for their honeymoon. However on Saturday, the couple chose to first go to Women’s hospital in Bukoto for a family planning injection.

“Upon reaching the hospital, doctors advised them to take an intrauterine device-IUD coil,” Twine said. “She was scanned but her uterus was not well positioned and the doctors gave her water hoping that it would probably align the uterus. It was also established that the deceased was having her periods and fasting too.”

Police said that the gynecologist advised that a person who is having her periods cannot take up the IUD, but then over unknown reasons, the coil was inserted and she developed severe stomach pain before she blacked out.

The victim was put on drip but she didn’t respond to the treatment. At the time, she was referred to Victoria hospital  in coma, and died hours later.

“The family is yet to be informed about the cause of her death, and it is very unfortunate,” the CID officer says. “We don’t want to rush into arrests because these are medical things, the reason we want to liaise with the experts to see whether there was any level of negligence or the cause of death was natural and coincidental.”

Police are advising all women and girls to do comprehensive consultation before taking on some special medical procedure.

”This is a call to our wives, our daughters and sisters that probably you need to do a comprehensive consultation before you take on some medical advice, because this has ended a life for a young lady unfortunately two days after her wedding,” Twine said sorrowfully.

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