A Circuit Court in Accra has granted bail in the sum of GH¢200,000 to a 33-year-old trader, Latifa Salifu, who is standing trial for allegedly stealing a four-day-old baby boy from Mamprobi Hospital.
The court, presided over by Mrs Annette Sophia Essel and sitting at the Police Headquarters, ordered the accused to produce two sureties, one of whom must justify with landed property valued at GH¢150,000.
As part of the bail conditions, Latifa Salifu is required to report to the case investigator every Monday and Thursday and deposit all her travelling documents at the court registry. The case has been adjourned to April 8, 2026.
Salifu, who has been charged with child stealing, pleaded not guilty after the prosecution presented amended facts before the court.
Chief Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, leading the prosecution, told the court that investigations had been completed and requested that the plea of the accused be taken. Although the prosecution did not oppose bail, it asked the court to impose strict conditions to ensure the accused would appear whenever required and requested that the bail be justified with landed property.
Counsel for the accused, Dr Hamisu Muhammed, urged the court to grant bail, arguing that under the law all offences were bailable at the discretion of the court. He maintained that his client was not a flight risk, explaining that she had strong ties within the jurisdiction and conducted her trading activities locally.
Dr Muhammed also told the court that Salifu was traumatised and depressed and appealed that the bail conditions should not be punitive. He assured the court that credible individuals were ready to stand as sureties for the accused.
According to the prosecution, the complainant, Precious Ankomah, a 29-year-old trader from James Town in Accra, gave birth to a baby boy through a caesarean section at Mamprobi Hospital on February 14, 2026. After delivery, she and the baby were placed in the theatre recovery ward.
Two days later, tests revealed that the baby had jaundice and arrangements were made to transfer both mother and child to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment. However, the mother was discharged the same day due to her inability to settle her medical bills, although she remained within the hospital premises and was moved to an upstairs recovery room.
The prosecution said that in the early hours of February 17, at about 4:00 a.m., the accused, dressed in peach-coloured nurses’ scrubs, approached the complainant, observed her and the baby, and left.
Around 7:00 a.m. that same morning, she allegedly returned and took the baby, claiming she was taking him to receive medication. She allegedly disappeared afterwards with the child.
When nurses on the morning shift reported for duty, they realised the baby was missing. The complainant informed them that a woman she believed to be a nurse had taken the baby to administer medication.
A search within the hospital and its surroundings proved unsuccessful, prompting Abigail Gudjinu, a nurse at Mamprobi Hospital, to report the incident to the Mamprobi Police.
The prosecution further stated that on February 18, while police were searching for the suspect, the accused contacted a whistleblower and claimed she had delivered a baby at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital but had been discharged due to a shortage of beds.
The whistleblower alerted the Dansoman Police, leading to Salifu’s arrest. In her caution statement to the police, she admitted to committing the offence, according to the prosecution.
