An 18-year-old Ugandan woman shocked an Eldoret court after she confessed to killing her six-month-old baby boy last October.
She wanted to free herself from the burden of taking care of him.
Barbara Mutenyo narrated to the court how she murdered her son during daytime and wrapped his body in a gunny bag before dumping it in a well.
“It is true I killed my son, who was by then aged six months, wrapped his body in a gunny bag and then dumped it in a well as I was unable to take care of the child on my own,” she told the court.
The accused, who looked disturbed in the dock, claimed that prior to committing the alleged offence she suffered extreme depression, abandonment and fear.
The court heard that after committing the murder, the teenage mother went underground for three days to escape arrest by the police who were pursuing her after being alerted about the incident by residents.
She later resurfaced and walked to the nearby police station where she confessed to the disappearance and killing of her son.
Police detained her in the cells before arraigning her to face the murder charge.
Mutenyo defended herself before Justice Reuben Nyakundi in a case where she is charged with killing her son, Junior Nesero Butsetse.
She is said to have committed the alleged offence on October 28, 2023 at Kabogo area in Kapseret subcounty, Uasin Gishu county.
She is represented by lawyer Robert Makori while the prosecution is led by Mark Mugun.
While defending herself through her lawyer, Mutenyo asked the court to give her non-custodial sentence in the event she is found guilty to enable her to get medical treatment for the trauma she went through after the horrific incident.
According to her lawyer, the accused requires rehabilitation, psycho-social support, counselling and critical re-integration to be able to manage herself, considering the circumstance that drove her to commit the alleged offence.
The case will come up for direction on April 18.