By Mariama Marong
A woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing a three-day-old baby, with the court ordering her to pay D100,000 in compensation to the child’s parents.
The sentence was handed down by Magistrate Bittaye at the Bundung Magistrates’ Court after the woman, whose name is being withheld, pleaded guilty to the offence. The laws would not permit Foroyaa to mention the name of the perpetrator for fear of identifying the child and the parents.
The convict appeared in court without legal representation and admitted the offence at the earliest stage of the proceedings. The case was prosecuted by the Inspector General of Police.
In delivering the sentence, Magistrate Bittaye said the court had considered both the circumstances of the offence and the factors presented in mitigation. The court relied on Section 136(1) of the Criminal Offences Act 2025, which makes child stealing a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The magistrate said the woman’s early guilty plea was a significant mitigating factor because it saved the court the time and expense of a trial. The court also considered her plea for mercy and the fact that she had no previous convictions.
During mitigation, the woman told the court that she suffered from a head condition that caused her to faint and that she also had asthma. However, she did not provide medical records or other evidence to support her claims.
Magistrate Bittaye said the court had taken her statements into account but could give them only limited weight without supporting medical evidence.
Despite these mitigating factors, the magistrate said the circumstances surrounding the offence were serious.
According to the judgment, the baby was only three days old at the time and depended entirely on adults for care and breastfeeding.
The court heard that the woman had offered to hold the baby while the mother went to provide samples at a hospital, following instructions from a nurse.
The magistrate noted that the mother had entrusted the child to the woman only temporarily and had not given her permission to leave the hospital with the baby.
The child’s disappearance lasted several hours, causing considerable distress to the parents just days after the birth, the court heard.
Magistrate Bittaye also highlighted the risks involved in taking a newborn away from the care of the child’s parents.
The magistrate said the court would not speculate about the woman’s motive beyond what had been established in the proceedings.
The case also prompted the court to raise concerns about the protection of newborns in hospital settings.
Magistrate Bittaye said hospitals should have practical arrangements to ensure that babies remain safely cared for when mothers attending follow-up appointments need to undergo examinations or provide samples without someone accompanying them.
The court also advised families, where possible, to ensure that mothers who have recently given birth are accompanied by a trusted relative or another suitable person who can help care for the baby.
However, the magistrate made clear that such precautions did not reduce the responsibility of anyone who committed the offence.
The court said the sentence should serve as a deterrent to others, stressing that the safety of newborns could not depend on the assumption that a person temporarily entrusted with a child would act lawfully.
After weighing the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, with particular emphasis on deterrence, Magistrate Bittaye sentenced the woman to three years’ imprisonment.
The court also ordered her to pay D100,000 in compensation to the child’s parents. If she fails to pay, she will serve an additional month in prison, according to the sentence.
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