A man in Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria State has been arrested after he accidentally kicked his child to death during a domestic brawl.
Local authorities said the incident happened at 2:00 am on Monday when the suspect, Daniel Comboni, picked up a quarrel with his wife.
1st Lt Atanga David, Crime Officer at Magwi County Police Station, said, “The incident happened when the mother of the baby started a quarrel with her husband, but in the process, the husband kicked the child after missing the wife, and unfortunately, the child died instantly. We arrested the suspect; he is under police custody as investigations are underway.”
Atanga said the suspect will remain behind bars to help with investigations and because of fear he might harm his wife if left free.
“The incident happened in Obure, Magwi Payam, within the county here. It is not the first time such cases have happened; the recent one was a few months ago but slightly different.”
Aldo Ojara Akuilino, a Paramount Chief in Magwi County, confirmed the incident and attributed it to excessive consumption of alcohol.
“This is the problem; such things would not have happened without alcohol; this is all because of alcohol. So, such drinking as a woman and a husband, you should drink little,” he said.
Charles Onen Lokwaruk, the Chairperson for the Civil Society Network in Eastern Equatoria State, said gender-based violence cases take a human rights abuse approach and mostly on women and children.
The activists appealed to local communities to stop violence for peace to prevail.
“We call upon our community members to respect the rights of each other and also avoid violence at home, especially in front of children, and violence that ends in deaths. Our community members should refrain from this. Our community leaders should also take some steps in addressing some violence like these, create more awareness, and join hands and not only leave it to the government. We should fight excessive drinking of alcohol and gender-based violence that has always destroyed our families,” said Charles.