Ugandan maid sentenced to four years in prison for baby torture

The 22-year-old Ugandan maid, Jolly Tumuhiirwe, caught on video torturing an 18-month-old baby has been sentenced to four years in prison after a court found her guilty of assault.

Tumuhiirwe’s heinous crime was exposed after the baby’s parents installed a CCTV camera when they were at work.

The ugly video which went viral on the internet, showed the maid pushing the baby girl to the floor.

She then kicked her in the stomach and kicked her face like she would a ball. She later stepped on the child with both legs, putting her entire weight on the girl’s back, before dragging her out the room apparently unconscious. The baby was left bruised and shaken by the abuse and is receiving treatment.

The incident has prompted authorities in Uganda to announce that anyone seeking a job as a maid would be vetted by police.

Tumuhirwe had last week pleaded guilty to maltreating the child but said she had been motivated by beatings given to her by the child’s mother – an accusation the mother denied.

Kampala Chief Magistrate, Lillian Buchana said the alleged beatings did not justify mistreating “an innocent child’’.

The child’s father, Eric Kamanzi was quoted outside the court as saying:

“We are yet to come to terms with what happened to our child. 

“ The sentence should serve as a message to other maids out there that they should not mistreat children”