A one-month-old baby boy has died from injuries after a troop of monkeys kidnapped him from his mother’s arms in Mwamgongo village in Kigoma, northeastern Tanzania, leaving residents in shock.
Shayima Said was breastfeeding her baby Luhaiba outside their house in the Mwamgongo village on Saturday afternoon when a group of monkeys invaded the home, snatched Luhaiba, and tried to run away with him.
“She screamed for help and villagers rushed to her house to assist her in getting her child…back from the troop of monkeys,” Kigoma Regional Police Commander James Manyama told The Citizen on Monday. The villagers had to use force against the monkeys to get back the baby. In the process, the baby got injured on the head and the neck, Manyama said.
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After rescuing the baby, residents rushed him to a nearby hospital but he died while receiving treatment. It is yet to be known what type of monkey was involved in the attack, however, many believe that the group came from Gombe National Park, a game reserve.
Mwamgongo village borders Gombe National Park. Officials have said that incidents of animals invading villages are not uncommon.
