The Ghana Police Service in the Upper West Region has commenced investigations into the discovery of a newborn baby boy’s body at a refuse dump near Sem-B Hotel in Wa.
The body was found on Friday, July 17, by a cleaner at the hotel who was carrying out her routine cleaning duties.
According to the cleaner, Fabiana Dery, she initially mistook the object she saw while emptying a dustbin near the hotel’s entrance for an animal.
“I was emptying the dustbin and preparing to burn the rubbish when I noticed what looked like a human leg.
I became scared and called my co-workers. When they came, we realised it was a dead baby,” she recounted.
Ms. Dery said the discovery left her shocked, adding that it was the first time she had encountered such an incident.
The owner of Sem-B Hotel, Dr. Paul Bangniyel, said management immediately informed the Wa Municipal Police after the cleaners reported the discovery.
“I received a call from my cleaners that they had found a baby wrapped in a polythene bag.
I went straight to the police station to make a report, and the police came to the scene with environmental health officers to take the necessary action,” he said.
Dr. Bangniyel explained that the incident was the first of its kind in the hotel’s over 15 years of operation.
He suggested that the baby may have been dumped at the location by someone passing by, but stressed that the matter was now in the hands of the police.
The Assembly Member for the area, Adams Yahaya Gigah, described the incident as disturbing and expressed concern about its impact on the image of the community.
“This is the first time we are witnessing something like this in our area. It is very disturbing, and we will work with the relevant authorities to see how such incidents can be prevented in the future,” he said.
The police have taken custody of the body and launched investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death and identify those responsible.
