A 2-day-old baby boy was brazenly snatched from his grandmother by an unknown female suspect Friday at the Tamale West Hospital, authorities said.
The grandmother, 80-year old Nuwokpo Limah, was reportedly carrying her grandson to a taxi station when the theft occurred. Her daughter, Limah Addo, 27, who had earlier given birth was reportedly too weak and tired to carry her new born baby.
Officials said while Addo was in labour, the female suspect nosed around the hospital waiting for an opportunity to snatch a baby, any baby, they added. Both mother and grandmother were on their way to board a taxi home after Addo was discharged when the suspect suddenly appeared and offered to help carry the baby to the nearest taxi station, the Pi-corner taxi rank. All this reportedly happened on the premises of the hospital.
Convinced that the suspect meant well—the suspect told Limah that she was Ewe and spoke the language fluently—the 80 year-old woman innocently entrusted her grandson to the suspect so that she could support her weak daughter to a taxi. That was the last time she saw her grandson, officials said.
Relatives of patients who sighted the baby ‘thief’ said, her loitering and readiness in assisting nursing mothers made them suspicious but they could not readily read meaning into her strange behavior. The relatives said she pretended helping all nursing mothers in the maternity ward including distributing sachet water to them and to some relatives of patients.
Her benevolent work made many believe that either she was working at the hospital or was a patient. Both health workers and nursing mothers were surprised as none of them knew the lady who according to eyewitnesses was virtually helping every nursing mother.
A brother of the grieving nursing mother, Agbeko Emanuel told Zaa News that though his mother and his sister shouted for help the suspect managed to escaped with the baby. According to Emanuel, the suspect walked in front of his mother and sister as they approached the Pi-taxi rank at 6:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Administrator of the Tamale West Hospital, Madam Tengfah Alice in an interview with Zaa News made a passionate appeal to patients and their relatives to be security conscious anytime they visit the hospital, adding that the incident was a wake up call to everyone to be careful in dealing with people they barely know.
Madam Alice said even though the hospital has CCTV cameras, they only focus on the pharmacy department and the revenue unit. The few security personnel at the hospital sometimes have serious confrontations with the relatives of patients who loiter around the hospital. The hospital, she added, needs a fence wall because its current open nature exposes it to criminals. She assured the public that the security unit of the hospital will help both the hospital and their clients.
She entreated patients and their relatives to report any suspicious behavior to the health personnel for appropriate action rather keeping quite over it.
