When my child was approaching 6 months I embarked on job hunting, because of connections, I landed a job as a manager.The salary was good. My next move was to search for a housemaid as soon as possible.
Lucky me(or I thought I was), I got a housemaid who was mature probably in her forties, with experience of three teenage children of her own, I knew that my child was going to be in safe hands.
So, when the lady was brought (let us call her Aunt Naki) my boss gave me a few days to orient her. You people, Aunt Naki told me that I should always leave her shs1000 for matooke because for her she’s tired of feeding on posho and any other food that is not matooke. ‘Fine, no problem with that, I can endure it’ I thought.
Because I needed that job so badly, I overlooked so many red flags Aunt Naki raised.
Two weeks into the job, my landlady calls me and says ” Gwe maama baby, mpozi nga okooye ki baby kyo, naye ono omukazi agenda kutira omwana” (translated as: You mama baby, unless you are tired of your baby, this maid is going to kill this child)
She wanted to check on her housemaid and baby
I was terrified by that statement and quickly asked my boss to let me go back home early that day.
It was around 12pm and as I raced to the house I could hear my child crying. I reached and the door was locked, I got my keys, opened the door only to find my child ( she was a chubby baby) stuffed in those netted cribs with all her toys, she was literally suffocating.
I then called Aunt Naki, asking her where she had gone to, leave the child in that state. She said she had gone to buy food and had left my child sleeping.(Lies).
I went to the landlady and she told me that every day as soon as I leave for work, this lady force-feeds the child while hailing all sorts of insults and thereafter locks her in the house for hours.
When I asked Aunt Naki, she denied everything.
Barely a week after that incident, I came home after work only to find Aunt Naki with a man in my house.
By Kerry Namyalo
