Wild cat ‘kills’ sleeping baby
SOSTHENES MWITA in Dodoma
Daily News; Monday,September 24, 2007 @00:04

A BABYBOY aged three months, Medison Zephania, was killed by a wild cat (nyegele) shortly after midnight on Saturday in Mpunguzi village, Dodoma Urban District. The baby was sleeping on the floor between two other young children when the cat attacked.



Regional Police Commander Omari Mganga said yesterday that a wild cat entered the mud hut in which Samwel Zephania and his family were sleeping and attacked a baby (Medison) who was sleeping on the floor in the company of two other children



He said the cat bit the child on the right hand and head, apparently with intent to eat him. He said the child’s parents, who were asleep on a bed nearby, discovered the death when the mother picked up the child in order to suckle him a short moment later.



Zephania (the father) told this reporter that the cat entered the hut through a hole in the wall. He said the child did not cry when the cat bit him. He and neighbours followed the cat’s tracks to a nearby bush and set fire on it. Two identical wild cats emerged fleeing the fire.



“We killed the two cats, hitting them with sticks,†Zephania told this reporter, producing the carcass of a wild cat that was stuffed in a plastic bag. Mr Mganga said although no arrest has been made, police would investigate the matter as it raised suspicions.