Mother fumes over baby burnt in family fued

NOEL IYOMBWA writes IT was going to be better if she injured my son who impregnated her rather than my little baby, Jane Nyekesa has said, she wants the law to take its course to teach the teen mother of her unborn grandchild a lesson. Speaking in a telephone interview, Ms Nyekesa said that the future of her baby daughter has been permanently damaged following the extensive burns she received after hot oil was poured on her during a fight between teen lovers. The one year eight-month old baby has been admitted to Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital since the weekend after the heavily pregnant teenage  girlfriend  attempted to pour hot oil on Ms Nyekesa’s 19-year-old son, but instead burnt the baby. Ms Nyekesa says she is too traumatised to be at the bedside of the baby, because the burns covering the back arm and face are causing constant pain to the baby, who cannot see or eat due to swelling and burns. The Kabangwe community are still in shock over the incident and the two families are still fighting, but Ms Nyekesa says she is still willing to receive her grandchild, once it is born but wants the baby’s mother to face the law. “She wanted to kill my daughter, even though we didn’t refuse full responsibility of the pregnancy and my son didn’t refuse,” she laments. “We tried to advise them (the girl’s family) that these are kids and loved each other. We just have to wait for the girl to deliver right now I just want my grandchild. Otherwise, I want her to learn a lesson because I am in pain and her family is not cooperative,”  she complained. During the incident last Saturday, Ms Nyekesa was also burnt on the back and stomach but says her pain is much less than what her daughter is going through. She said that the fights between the two teens were not new and that she has tried to reason with the family of the girl but that her mother, Ms Mainza keeps on being aggressive. Last week the Police spokesperson confirmed an incident of a teen pouring hot oil on a baby following a fight and that the 17-year-old had been detained at Ngwerere Police Post. “A case of assault on a child which occurred on Saturday 2 May 2020 in which a female juvenile Purity Mainza, aged 17 years old, did have a misunderstanding with her boyfriend,” Esther Katongo said. The Sun