A family in Mombasa is crying for justice after an 11-year-boy died after allegedly being forced to drink a corrosive acid by a neighbour.
Vincent Ondongu is said to have been hospitalised on November 5 after their neighbour Josiah Mwadime assaulted him over claims that he had fought his son.
The deceased’s mother, Florence Aluoch, said on Monday, November 21, that the two boys had fought over a homemade football.
Mwadime, in the company of three other persons, is said to have flogged the boy and tied him to a sofa set before forcing him to drink a bottle of acid.
The mother said the incident was brought to her attention after she arrived home from work in the evening.
She claimed the son was brought home by neighbours while unconscious. She rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was given first aid before being referred to the Coast General Teaching & Referral Hospital.
The mother later reported the assault incident at Changamwe Police station under OB number 30/5/11/22.
“My son was brought back home when he was unconscious by neighbours. Upon my arrival at home I reported to police and managed to rush him to a nearby hospital where doctors performed first aid before they referred me to Coast General hospital,” the mother painfully narrated while calling for justice for her child.
She revealed that upon regaining consciousness the boy managed to narrate his ordeal in the hands of the perpetrators.
Unfortunately, the boy died at Coast General hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) five days later.
Meanwhile, police in Changamwe on Monday confirmed that the suspect had been arrested.
Changamwe Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Grace Wangoi said Mwadime was arrested and arraigned in court last week where the police sought to detain the suspect for 14 days to conclude investigations into the matter before preferring charges.
“In the said case the suspect was arrested last week, and arraigned before Mombasa Law courts where the investigating officer requested more time to conclude investigations,” the officer said.
An autopsy conducted last Monday showed that the minor had ingested hydrochloric acid that led to extensive damage to the throat, and corrosive injury to the stomach and oesophagus.
