A 10-year-old boy is receiving treatment in the Katutura State Hospital for severe burn injuries after his mother allegedly scalded him with boiling water for defying her orders to babysit his sibling.
The mother allegedly left the boy last week Friday to babysit his two-year-old sibling while she went to the shop but the boy went to play, leaving the baby. When the mother returned she could not trace the 10-year-old, which infuriated her.
The 43-year-old Hakahana mother was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after police were tipped off about the scalding.
The unemployed mother, charged under the Combating of Domestic Violence Act - is expected to appear in the Katutura Magistrate's Court today. Her case is being investigated by the gender-based violence investigation unit of the Namibian police that probes such cases.
Windhoek City Police Fabian Amukwelele said the incident happened on Friday around 16h30 after the mother returned from the shop and found the two-year-old baby alone and the older brother nowhere to be seen.
"When the mother returned she was looking for the boy but couldn't find him. He eventually returned and she asked him why he left but he wasn't answering. So she poured water on him," stated Fabian.
The boy was taken to the Katutura hospital on Tuesday where he is admitted. The mother is claiming to have thought she had poured cold water on the boy. She said the boy is 'naughty' and would go play till evening. After the incident the mother allegedly took the son to a clinic on Saturday and was supposed to take him back on Monday but did not - preferring instead applying ointments at home.
In a similar incident, a stepmother to a 10-year-old girl appeared in Ondangwa Magistrate Court last week after she allegedly burnt her with boiling water after she forgot to switch off their geyser.
Families usually switch off their geysers as a coping mechanism under the current harsh economic climate to save on electricity.
The step mother, Pafunisia Mwadhina Josua, 36, faces a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Amukwelele advised parents to refrain from reprimanding children by resorting to extreme measures. He also urged the public to tip off the police when they observe signs of children being abused.
