A 25-year-old unemployed woman, Helena Aba Kwansah Abakah, has appeared before the Tarkwa Circuit Court in the Western Region over allegations that she stole an eight-month-old baby boy and circumcised him.
The baby’s mother, Ms. Halima Joll, told police that circumcision is against her cultural beliefs.
Abakah, also known as Dijah Ali, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of child stealing under Section 93 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). She appeared before Her Honour Mrs. Bernice Mensimah Ackon on March 2, 2026. The case has been adjourned to April 28, 2026.
According to the prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Samuel Ahiabor, the incident happened on December 24, 2025, when the accused allegedly took the baby, Musah Joll, from his mother.
The court heard that the complainant, a 27-year-old Fulani hairdresser, met the accused on December 20, 2025, while travelling from Kumasi to Bogoso. After the trip, they exchanged contacts and stayed in touch.
On December 24, 2025, the accused reportedly asked the complainant to braid her hair and took her to St. James Anglican Church at Ateikuem in Bogoso for the service. During the braiding, she allegedly played with the baby and later took him from the mother, claiming it would make her work easier.
The prosecution said the accused later took the woman to another location in search of customers, during which she allegedly disappeared with the baby.
Unable to speak the local language, the complainant could not immediately raise an alarm and instead returned home to inform her husband. The matter was then reported to the Bogoso Police, and the accused’s phone number was handed over to investigators.
On January 14, 2026, the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service tracked the number to Prestea, where the accused was arrested. The baby was found with her and rescued.
The mother later identified her child but noticed he had been circumcised, which she said was against her culture. A medical report from the Bogoso Government Hospital also indicated that the child’s blood level had dropped.
Investigations further revealed that the accused had married one Abdulai Salu in April 2025. She allegedly told him she was pregnant before their marriage and later claimed she had delivered a baby in Kumasi who was kept in an incubator due to health issues, but never presented the child.
Prosecutors also said she later introduced the stolen baby to her husband as their biological child.
The accused has since been formally charged, and the case is ongoing in court.
