A young mother has been arrested by the police at Jasikan in the Oti Region, for dumping her day-old baby for dead in a pit latrine.

The 21-year-old was arrested along with an elderly woman for committing the alleged crime on Friday, 27 May 2022.

After noticing the baby was no more with the mother, some suspicious residents confronted the woman and demanded to know the baby’s whereabouts.

Together with the elderly woman who is believed to be her mother, the young woman led the residents to the pit latrine where they found the dead baby.

The mother of the baby and the elderly woman are both in the custody of the police.

The body of the baby has been deposited at the Jasikan Hospital morgue.

The Jasikan infanticide comes less than a week after another young mother killed her three-month-old twins in a similar fashion in Sunyani, the capital of the Bono Region.

In the Sunyani case, the 20-year-old mother, identified as Ellian Zumeseh, was arrested for dumping the twins in a well for dead.

A police report available to Classfmonline.com said on Tuesday, 24 May 2022, at about 02:05hrs, a businesswoman, Cecilia Adokopoka of house number A301/2, Abetifi Zongo, Sunyani, aged 49, assisted by No. 57950 G/Const. Richard Yirenkyi and No. 60179 G/Const. Samuel Dwomoh, arrested and brought in suspect the suspect.

The complainant said at about 0130hours that day, the suspect dumped her three-month-old male twin babies in a well in their house and left them to die.

The police proceeded to the scene at Zongo Abetifi and saw the twins floating in the well.

The bodies were retrieved and “carefully inspected”, the police report said.

It added that “no marks of violence were seen but some whitish foamy substance was flowing from their noses”.

“The scene was photographed and bodies were conveyed to the regional hospital emergency ward”, the police said.

“They were pronounced dead by the medical officer on duty, Dr Kofi Amoako on arrival”, the situational report said.

“The bodies have since been deposited at the same hospital’s mortuary for preservation awaiting autopsy”, the report noted. 

Meanwhile, the suspect is in police custody assisting with investigations.