Court Orders RosWell Hospital to Carry Out DNA Test on Child they Confiscated for 3Months from Biological Mother Due to Bills

The High Court has ordered a DNA test on a 3months old baby who was allegedly detained by RosWell Hospital in Kampala after the parents,  Bridgers Alinda Mugenyi and Saloome Aturinde, failed to pay UGx4Million medical bills so the Hospital gave the baby away to an orphanage forcing parents to involve the law.

According to info from the hospital, the parents of the baby, through their lawyer Geoffrey Turyamusiima, said they are not sure if the baby handed to them by the hospital was their actual child, prompting the order by High Court judge Esther Nambayo.

The couple accuse the hospital of detaining their baby as collateral due to unpaid childbirth bills. In their petition before the civil division of the High court, the couple asserts that the hospital's actions have turned their baby into a commodity, which they consider as inhuman, cruel, and degrading. 

The two claim that the hospital even threatened to sell their baby to Sanyu Baby's Home, a care centre looking after mostly abandoned kids. According to the parents, the hospital even prevented the baby's mother from breastfeeding or providing pumped breast milk to the child.

They are concerned about the potential health risks associated with not breastfeeding and the distress faced by the mother. The parents are seeking an order from the court for the immediate release of the baby and a ruling that they are not obligated to pay any medical bills for the period during which the child was illegally detained.

They are also requesting general damages for the violation of their constitutional rights and freedom from inhuman, cruel, and degrading treatment. Evidence presented to the court indicates that on May 7, 2023, Mugenyi accompanied Aturinde to Rosewell hospital when her amniotic fluid started flowing. Aturinde had been receiving antenatal care at the same hospital.

Rosewell Hospital on the spot over detaining baby. Baby detained after parents failed to clear bills.#TheNews | #UrbanUpdates pic.twitter.com/SJUVQ8AL5x

— Urban Television (@UrbanTVUganda) August 30, 2023