Boy who died, buried two years ago shows up

 

Sixteen-year-old boy Shaaban Maulid and his mother Aziza Ramadhan in ward number 9 at Geita Hospital. The boy, who is believed to have died and buried in 2011 showed up alive on Saturday.PHOTO | SALUM MAIGE

  Geita. A record number of residents has been turning up at Geita Hospital to witness the resurrection of a 16-year-old boy, believed to have died in 2011.
It was widely rumoured here that Shaaban Maulid, who died, and was buried at Kambarage suburb in Geita Municipality in January 2011, was seen alive on Saturday before he was brought to Geita hospital.
An eyewitness who is his relative claimed that Shaaban, then aged 14, left home on January 1, 2011 with livestock, but never returned home until four days later when he was found dead at Mbugani Street. His body was found in a deep well.
The boy’s mother, Ms Aziza Ramadhan, 45, claimed that she came face to face with her son on Saturday at Mwembeni suburb where she frequently sells vegetables. She said she found him near the well where he died two years back.
Astonished, Ms Aziza said she was puzzled and could not believe the boy was her son. “Doubting, I ordered him to stop and he obediently stopped walking, then looked at me. A few minutes later my neighbour joined us. I asked my neighbour if she could recognise the boy; and amazingly she said she recognised him as my son who had died two years back,” claimed Ms Aziza.
The mother later called the boy’s father, Mr Maulid Shaaban, who also confessed that the boy was his dead son.
The fourth witness, according to Ms Aziza, was Mr Joseph Nungula, the head teacher of Mwatulole Primary School where the boy was a Standard Five pupil prior to his death.
“The head teacher, like other witnesses said the boy was the one who was one of his pupils,” she said, adding: “We informed the police who questioned us before taking my son to the hospital,” she added.
The mother said she could easily identify her son due to a big scar on his forehead and on his private parts because he had gone through initiation. According to the mother of five, Shaaban was her second born.
When interviewed the boy said he was living in an area with so many people; the day he met his mother he was with another boy called Bahati. The boy, despite looking healthy, couldn’t speak properly at the time he was admitted to Geita hospital on Saturday. However, he could recognise some few friends and classmates.
“Now he can utter a few words and even recognise some of his friends and relatives,” said the doctor.
He said the hospital administration planned to conduct a DNA test at Bugando Hospital to verify his parentage.
The resurrection of the boy was also confirmed by Geita regional police commander Leonard Paulo.
According to the RPC, the incident was the second to occur in the region. He said the first incident occurred in 2008 involving the re-appearance of a woman named Flora Onesmo, 45, who was pronounced dead at Geita Hospital and buried at Nakasenya Village. She was seen recently at Kasamwa area, just 15 kilometres from Geita Municipality.