A father in Uganda has beaten his daughter to death for failing to do her homework, according to local reports.

The man, a bricklayer in Kawempe, an area in the city of Kampala, Uganda’s capital is in police custody over the death of his seven-year-old daughter.

The little girl was staying with her step-mother and father.

According to the Daily Monitor, the suspect returned home from work at about 7pm and asked his daughter Irene Nambalirwa if she had done her homework.

Nambalirwa, a primary two pupil at Eria Memorial Primary School in Lugoba, Kawempe answered in the negative. Then her father allegedly pounced on her, beating her to death, according to police account.

According to the Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, Mr. Patrick Onyango, the girl’s step-mother tried to restrain the father from assaulting the girl, but she was unsuccessful.

“The step-mother called the residents to help stop her husband from beating the girl but he refused. It was the residents who called police officers from the Child and Family Protection Unit in Kawempe to arrest the suspect,” Mr. Onyango said.

The suspect was arrested on Monday and taken to Kawempe Police Station while the beaten girl was taken to a clinic in Kanyanya. The clinic was unsuccessful in managing the girl’s condition, so she was referred to Mulago hospital where she was reported dead.

“We have talked to the father and he says that his intention was not to kill the girl but to punish her for not doing the homework in time,” Mr. Onyango said.

The suspect faces a charge of murder.