Baby dumped

A week-old baby was abandoned near a grocery shop at Lamashegu, a suburb of the Tamale Metropolis, during the wee hours of Tuesday.

The baby was deposited under the shed of the store adjacent Daeha Maternity Home whose owners denied knowledge of the said baby.

Residents claimed that at about 3.30am, a woman from the vicinity and a mother of three was on her way to attend to nature’s call at a public lavatory when she heard the cry of a baby near the store.

She decided to find out who could have left her baby unattended to at that odd hour and when she got closer, she saw some movements in a cloth and raised the alarm, attracting residents to the spot where the baby was kept.

Two Good Samaritans, Sulemana Kubura and Yawuza Yawuyawu, who initially took custody of the child, later called the assemblyman for the area, Abu Takoro who immediately rushed to the scene to offer assistance.

According to Takoro, he called officials of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police to lodge an official complaint.

Abu Takoro noted the baby’s umbilical cord was still intact, suggesting that it was not delivered in a medical facility. He said the baby was in a diaper and wearing socks, observing that her mouth was dry.

“That is why I reported it quickly to DOVSU and the Department of Social Welfare to intervene so she can be given medical attention,” he stated.

He disclosed to DAILY GUIDE he had already caused announcements on some local radio stations and appealed to residents to be on the lookout for lactating mothers or others who would talk about the mysterious death of their newly born babies, explaining that such characters should be reported to the security agencies.

He further called on politicians and the metropolitan assembly to come to the aid of the children’s home which he described as a death trap.

Later in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, the Tamale Metropolitan Station Coordinator of DOVVSU, Chief Inspector Lawrence Adombire, commended the assemblyman and the residents for reporting the incident.

He explained that child abandonment was a criminal offence and appealed to residents to come forth with information to assist his outfit with its investigation.

He cautioned parents to be vigilant and responsible towards the upkeep of their children, warning teenage girls against unprotected sex. He reasoned that the baby could have been abandoned by a teenager, considering the numerous reports of teenage pregnancies in the metropolis.

Chief Inspector Adombire disclosed that his office was inundated with numerous domestic cases, with between four and six cases of teenage pregnancies daily.

The baby has since been given the necessary vaccinations while the police have commenced investigations.

The baby, who was in good condition, according to doctors at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, was initially taken to Anfaani Children’s Home but the cumbersome procedure adopted by the home compelled the DOVVSU officials to take it to the Nyohini Children’s Home for evaluation and care.