Thief Unknowingly Steals Suitcase Containing Body of 5-Month-Old Child

A Ugandan mother is desperately appealing for public help after a thief stole a suitcase containing the body of her five-month-old daughter, leaving her unable to bury her child.

Kimuli Jjumba, 40, had just been discharged from Mulago Hospital following the death of her infant daughter, Paulina Namigade. With no money to arrange proper transportation, she placed the baby’s body in a newly purchased suitcase and boarded a commuter taxi, hoping to reach her village to give her daughter a dignified burial.

The situation took a devastating turn mid-journey when Jjumba briefly stepped off the taxi to load airtime onto her phone. By the time she returned, the vehicle had already pulled away with her suitcase still inside. All efforts to chase it down were unsuccessful.

The taxi, a Toyota Hiace with registration number UBL 104 Z, has since become the focus of her frantic search. Jjumba believes a fellow passenger likely took the bag assuming it held valuables, with no idea of what was actually inside.

Jjumba had already been pushed to her limits before the theft occurred. Discharged from hospital with no funds for a hearse or formal transport, she made the heartbreaking decision to carry her daughter’s remains in a suitcase as the only option available to her. It was a compromise born entirely out of poverty and desperation.

Now stranded and unable to proceed with burial arrangements, Jjumba and her family are begging the public for any information that could help locate the suitcase and bring Paulina home for a proper farewell.