The Upper West Regional Police Command has arrested a 38-year-old woman, Abena Martha Maanibeh, for allegedly stealing a one-week-old baby and valuables belonging to the baby’s mother at the Wa market, also known as Kejetia.
According to a police statement issued in Wa on Monday, August 18, 2025, the incident happened on August 10, 2025.
The suspect, posing as a caretaker at the Wa Regional Hospital, reportedly lured the complainant, Ms Kwofie Mwinibelle, to buy baby diapers at the market. She then disappeared with the infant and a handbag containing a mobile phone, cash, and other personal belongings.
The statement, signed by the Upper West Regional Police Commander, DCOP Darko Offei Lomotey, said officers from the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit, led by ASP Madam Stella Atukwia, tracked and arrested the suspect on August 15, 2025, at her hideout in the Nuobollie community in the Savannah Region.
The baby was rescued unharmed and reunited with the mother, while some of the stolen items were also retrieved.
The suspect was arraigned before the Wa District Magistrate Court on Monday, August 18, 2025. She has been remanded into custody and is expected to reappear on September 2, 2025.
The Command urged residents to remain alert and pledged to continue protecting lives and property across the region.
