Hospital authorities have confirmed that the 7-year-old boy who was burnt by the mother after he stole K10, which he later used to play Bonanza, a type of coin-operated gambling machine is expected be discharged within seven days.
Chipata Central Hospital Registrar and General Surgeon, Ali Mwanza, said the boy, who sustained burns 12 centimetres deep, was responding well to treatment and was steadily recovering.
“The burns on the back of the boy are on the skin and were getting onto the second layer of the skin,” Dr Mwanza mentioned.
He updates that his fevers were stable and the wound was healing.
He told the media that the boy may be out of the hospital in the next seven days following the pace at which he was recovering.
“The tissues are wearing very well and if we do not have any complications, the child can be out of hospital in 7 days,” he approximated.
And the uncle to the Child, Prosper Nyirenda said it was unfortunate that his sister Amelia Namonje 31 of Mchini Compound decided to burn the child.
He expressed sadness that he was currently the only one helping both the child and taking food to the sister, who is currently in police custody.
Mr Nyirenda explained that the father of the child was nowhere to be seen despite knowing the condition.
He said that despite coming from Lusaka, he was financially unstable and could manage to care for the children of his sister.
“My sister can be punished, but let her continue to care for her children, because no one will manage to take up the responsibility,” he pleaded.
Amelia Namonje 31 of Mchini Compound of Eastern Province burnt her son with hot water, on January 22, 2026, over a K10 she claimed he got to play a game known as bonanza.
But according to the survivor, he only wanted to get a K3 out of the K10 to buy a school item.
Namonje is a mother of 3, with the child currently admitted to Chipata Central Hospital, being the last born.
