Thursday, September 23, 2010

Four boys in police custody over death of 10-year-old girl

Four boys in police custody over death of 10-year-old girl
By Correspondent
www.ippmedia.com

Police in Dar es Salaam are holding four boys in connection with the death of a 10- year old girl, Jessica Ngosi, who was killed in Tungi area, Dar es Salaam.

Temeke regional police commander David Misime told The Guardian by telephone that the girl, who was a Standard Five pupil at Ufukoni Primary School, was killed by her nephew Enock Sechemi (17) and his three friends.

He named the friends as Deus Daudi Nyagawa alias James (16) from Tungi, Ali Salum (15) from Tuamoyo and Mohamed Issa (16) from Kigamboni.

Misime said immediately after the police were informed about the incident they went to the scene and found the girl already dead in an unfinished building near the Muslims’ graveyard.

He explained that when the police removed the body, they saw severe injuries around the neck, chest and at the left side of her stomach.

The RPC said a medical report showed the girl was raped before she was killed and the body was preserved at Vijibweni hospital.

RPC Misime said when interrogated, Sechemi admitted to have killed his niece in collaboration with the three friends.

Elizabeth Ngosi (17), Jessica’s niece narrated the incidence, saying Sechemi went at home on Tuesday at around 18:00 and asked Jessica to plait his hair before he went to the toilet.

After he came out from the toilet he left with Jessica and came back at around 20:00 without her.

“I asked Enock where is Jessica but he said ‘I took her to her friend’ then he directed me to the place where I can find her. After missing her I decided to go to maternal aunt Salome (Sechemi’s mother) without success,” Ngosi said.

Thereafter, Ngosi said she went to tell his paternal uncle Jonathan Daudi Ngosi (Jessica’s father), who was at his workplace in Tungi area to inform him and her uncle joined her to look for Jessica. While all that happened, Hellena Charles (Jessica’s mother) went to Dodoma for a funeral ceremony.

“On our way home, I saw something like a body in an unfinished building. I showed my uncle, who went closer and found it was Jessica. We started shouting and when people came, one of them called the police, who also came after few hours and took her body to the hospital and took us to the police post,” Ngosi said.

Meanwhile, Paskalia Mashauri, an owner of the house where Ngosi and the entire family live said Enock was a naught boy, he happened to steal from his uncle three phones and he heard him saying he would rape the girl one day and on Tuesday he went there early afternoon holding a knife.

She said Jessica’s father fainted thrice yesterday morning and was taken to Vijibweni hospital, where he was admitted.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN