Couple arrested for locking 9 year old son in pigsty

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police in Jinja are holding a couple for locking up their nine-year-old son in a pigsty. The suspects are Peter Magoola and his wife, Ruth Mirembe, both residents of Buyala trading center in Jinja City Northern division.

Police picked up the couple on a tipoff from area residents, who noticed the minor being locked up in the pigsty for close to three weeks. Lilian Nabwonso, a resident of the area accuses the couple of feeding their son on pig leftovers exposing him to infections.

Mirembe says that his stepson was suffering from demonic attacks and the same neighbors advised her to keep him in the pigsty with the aim of scaring the evil spirits off him. “Citing the biblical scripture of Mathew 8:28-34, my neighbors told me that, Jesus Christ cast evil spirits into swine and that the same demonic spirits that were possessing my stepson would flee to the pigs, in case I let him sleep near them and that’s how I ended up keeping him there,” she said.

Magoola denied having prior knowledge of his son sharing sleeping space with the pigs. Kiira Region Police spokesperson James Mubi says that the minor looked malnourished and has been handed over to Nalufenya children’s hospital for further management. Mubi says that the duo will be charged with child neglect.

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