Abortion Kills 12 Year Old Girl

Augustina Gabriel, a 12 year old resident of Telekubukazo, a farming community in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region has died under some bizarre circumstances. According to sources, the young girl met her untimely death after she allegedly tried to abort a five-month-old pregnancy. She was suspected to have taken an unprescribed drug in an attempt to get rid of the pregnancy but started having some complications and was initially rushed to the Esiama Hospital for treatment.

However, her situation was getting worse so she was later transferred to the St. Martin de Porres Hospital at Eikwe where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Ellembelle Social Welfare Officer, Jonas Kabutey, said he suspects the young girl died after the failed attempt to abort the foetusHe disclosed that the deceased allegedly entered into an amorous relationship with a 21-year-old man in the area when she was 11 years.

He indicated that the parents of the young girl were aware of the relationship to the extent that their late daughter used to sleep over at the house of her boyfriend. “She started having an affair with the boy at the age of 11 and even sometimes the girl sleeps over at her boyfriend’s house,” he alleged.He pointed out that the parents allegedly agreed to the relationship purportedly because they were benefitting financially from the relationship.

On why the 21-year-old man has not been arrested, Mr. Kabutey said that when he reported the case to the police, he was told that the complainants of the case should be the deceased’s parents. So the guy is walking about in the area as a freeman. I even want the parents to be arrested for allowing their young girl to enter into a relationship with the 21-year-old man, he added. He said such cases are rampant in the district, and when they happen, the parents refuse to report.

The parents take money from the suspects and refuse to pursue the cases. We need to have a lot of education for the people of Ellembelle on some of these issues, he stressed. He then suggested that the Attorney General should begin the processes of ensuring that certain agencies like the Social Welfare be given the requisite powers to be able to prosecute such cases.