A woman has lost her two-month-old baby to a stranger who ran away with her under the pretext of going to buy phone airtime at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, Ghana.
Agnes Dadzie, a resident of Akyem Akroso, was travelling to Ashiaman to her in-law whom she had informed a week ago she would be visiting. Though not a first-time visitor to the capital, the distraught mother said she had wanted to show her baby to her in-laws whom she had never seen since the birth of the baby.
Recounting what happened, Agnes said she managed to convince her best friend, Charity Denyo, a mother of twins, to join her to get something to do. When they arrived at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Agnes called her brother, Akwasi, who lives in Accra to tell him they were at the lorry station yet to join a car to Ashiaman.
He told her he was washing some few clothes for his master after which he will run a few errands before coming over to pick them. She said everything was going according to plan until a woman passed by with smiles on her face.
Agnes drew her friend’s attention to a lady who was looking at them and Charity remarked that she had seen the lady gazing at her twins in admiration. The lady passed by, only to come back later to take the eldest of the twins to play with.
The two visitors at this point were famished and wanted something to eat. Charity complained that but for Akwasi’s delay, they would have had some food to eat. The lady who was playing with the baby overheard them and offered to buy them lunch at the Las Palmas eatery, Charity narrated. She said that while she and Agnes were inside the restaurant, the woman complained that the fan under which Agnes was seated was not good for her baby, so she took the baby from her and handed Charity’s two-month-old baby to her.
Shortly after, the strange woman said she was going out to get some mobile phone airtime. Agnes said she resisted it, but the woman assured them that she was not a bad person and would be back soon. The victim said after some time, she went out and saw her coming back with her baby; so, she decided to go back to the restaurant to wait for her, but she never came back.
Agnes said she ran out, only to be told that the woman was last seen heading towards the rail area. Neither the strange lady nor the baby has been sighted. Asked why she handed her baby to a complete stranger, Agnes said she thought it was a normal occurrence for people to see mothers with babies and befriend them. Police say they are investigating the issue.