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2-day-old baby stolen from hospital
Police in Pallisa District are investigating circumstances under which a 2-days old baby was reportedly stolen from Pallisa Hospital. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Police in Pallisa District are investigating circumstances under which a 2-days old baby was reportedly stolen from Pallisa Hospital. The alleged theft occurred on the morning of Aug 12, when an unknown woman whom the mother, Betty Akello, had entrusted the baby with, disappeared.
- It’s reported that on Sunday Ms Akello, a resident Omatakojo village, Kibale Town Council, Pallisa told Daily Monitor that they were leaving the hospital upon being discharged after giving birth at the hospital.
Police in Pallisa District are investigating circumstances under which a 2-days-old baby was reportedly stolen from Pallisa Hospital. The alleged theft occurred on the morning of Aug 12, when an unknown woman whom the mother, Betty Akello, had entrusted the baby with, disappeared.
It’s reported that on Sunday Ms Akello, a resident Omatakojo village, Kibale Town Council, Pallisa told Daily Monitor that they were leaving the hospital upon being discharged after giving birth at the hospital.
The mother, Ms Akello with her sister-in-law, said that while at the hospital’s main gate, they met a cunning woman who tricked them and picked the baby from them and then immediately boarded on a motorcycle and fled to unknown destination with the baby.
“I thought that the cunning woman only wanted to have a look at the baby as its common after one has given birth but unfortunately she had hidden motives to disappear with my child,” the mother said in tears.
On-lookers who responded to the cries of the woman nearly beat up her for being negligent. In defense, she said that this was her first birth but she was only saved by the hospital security guard who alerted police who came and rescued her.
A case of child theft has been registered at Pallisa central police station.
The Hospital Administrator, Dr Godfrey Ekisa, could not authentically confirm to Daily Monitor the incidence, because he has not been around for some time but if it’s proved to be true that the child had been stolen then it would be the first case of child theft at Pallisa Hospital.
Ms Madina Nsabagwa, a midwife at Pallisa Hospital cautioned expectant mothers to be very careful when interacting with strange people while within hospital premises
“Every the other day, we [midwives] give a word of caution to these expectant mothers to be extra careful because of the increasing child theft in health units. In this case, the mother is to blame for the loss of her baby because she acted recklessly,” Ms Nasabagwa said.
Adding that, “Cases of baby theft are all over the media. There are also posters all over the place cautioning new mothers to keep a watchful eye over their babies and even those who have to leave their babies with anyone, we normally urge them to only leave them with people they fully trust. Not a stranger.”
The District Health Officer, Mr Godfrey Mulekwa, noted that expectant mothers who visit these health facilities have been cautioned against entrusting their children with strangers because this challenge had been on the increase in the country.
“We normally advice these mothers to take extra care for their new born children because there are others who want to take advantage and run off with other women’s children,” he said.
The Police Community Liaison officer, Mr Calvin Opule confirmed the theft of the child at around 8.00am. He said that Ms Betty Akello, 18, had been discharged after the delivery but had entrusted her child to her sister in-law. As they reached the hospital main gate they met one Elizabeth Atai, who begged them to have a look at the child.
“As she pretended to admire the child, she moved slowly out of the gate and jumped on a boda-boda and disappeared to unknown destination, but with the help of the hospital security guard, we managed to identify the woman and managed to recover the baby. The sister-in-law and the thief are being detained at Pallisa police station to help police in the investigations.”
