The mother of a three-year-old girl, who passed on after police declared she consumed poisoned cereal at a sleepover, states she’s praying for her daughter’s justice after charges were established concerning her demise.
An inquiry into the death of Bernice Nantanda Wamala began on March 7 subsequently after she became extremely ill and passed away while at a sleepover.
According to police information, a 45-year-old man put a controlled substance, which he acquired from his place of work, into the breakfast cereal.
Bernice and another child consumed the cereal during the sleepover, and both children were dashed to the hospital afterward.
While the other child recovered after a lengthy hospital stay, Bernice died in hospital hours after consuming the cereal.
On Monday, Maurine Mirembe told CTV News,
“All I am praying for is my daughter’s justice.”
At the beginning of March, Mirembe stated her daughter was with a friend at a Scarborough apartment unit in the same building where they resided.
She got a call from the friend’s mother claiming that Bernice was having some type of reaction following breakfast and she vomiting.
“When I went upstairs, I found Bernice laying in a chair,” Mirembe stated at the time, adding that the child was hardly breathing. “She was so weak and when I checked her mouth it was grey.”
“I even squeezed her middle finger to see if the blood was moving, but nothing.”
Mirembe claimed that the friend’s mother contacted 911, but the operator linked them with a Telehealth Ontario nurse who advised them to take Bernice to the nearest hospital.
The child was taken to Michael Garron Hospital and put on oxygen. After several tests and resuscitation efforts by the doctors, Mirembe stated her daughter life support was withdrawn.
One week after her third birthday, Bernice was declared dead.
In a news statement presented on Monday, police claimed that a suspect recognized as a Toronto local had been arrested in connection with the inquiry.
Francis Ngugi was charged with criminal negligence causing death, two counts of administering a noxious substance to endanger life, and two counts of unlawfully causing bodily harm.
Police did not reveal if the suspect knew or was related to the children or the families.
The charges are yet to be proven in court.
