Amateur photo of Police holding the child after rescue
It was around 11 AM when Chantal Nyirahabimana, a trader from Champion Investment Company (CHIC) heard a voice of a child calling for help.
As she paid more attention, she located the source of the voice -a child, approximately two years in a white Mercedez Benz sedan in front of her shop. After several attempts to have the girl child open the car in vain, she called for help and a crowd gathered, with none able to assist.
After several minutes of attempting to open the car, an onlooker took matters in his own hands and cracked the small glass on the rear door in a bid to open the door and rescue the child who was sweating and hardly breathing. He failed as the arm fell short of reaching the inner handle to open.
Several people tried and failed to open the door, with a couple of them sustaining glass cuts from the cracked window. Onlookers decided to call police. Policemen arrived around 2PM, and opened the door with ease, picked the child and continued to search for parents.
The father happened to come and was taken to Rwanda Investigation Bureau(RIB), Nyarugenge station for investigation into the matter. The mother joined them later on.
At RIB Nyarugenge-near La Galette, blame games began. The father told KT Press that the incident was blown out of proportion.
“In fact people are exaggerating the matter. I parked the car and rushed to work leaving the child with the mother and maid.”
The maid who was also at the RIB station, said :” I had gone to buy fruits for the child while the mother had gone to buy medicines for the child. It seems people are extrapolating this story though.”
Nyirahabimana is concerned, that “the parents are not taking good care of the child if you ask me.” Many who had gathered at the scene blamed the parents or caretakers of the child for being reckless. By press time, Police and RIB were still looking into the matter. It is not clear if charges will be preferred against the parents for endangering the life of a toddler.
There was a sense of relief as the child was removed from the car by Police officers who acted with a sense of urgency.
