This archive report was first published on 28 September 2019.
On September 26, 2019, a Ugandan woman was sentenced to two years in jail for a shocking act of negligence that put her step-daughter's health at risk.
According to court records, Annet Namata, a middle-aged woman from Central Uganda, pleaded guilty to serving her step-daughter food mixed with her own menstrual blood on June 6, 2019.
The incident occurred at their matrimonial home in Kitega Village, Central Uganda, and was discovered when the step-daughter fell ill.
Magistrate Patience Koborunga handed down the sentence, stating that Namata's actions were a clear violation of Section 171 of Uganda's penal code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
Namata's husband, Yunus Lungu, expressed disappointment with the sentence, saying that his wife should have received a longer jail term.
“Let her serve her term in jail, and, hopefully, she learns from her mistake,” Lungu said in a statement to The Observer.
