Two-day-old infant discovered in Damongo dustbin, police search for mother

A newborn baby, only two days old, has been found abandoned in a dustbin container at Hangerline, a community in Damongo within the West Gonja Municipality. 

The discovery was made by a teenage girl who had gone to dispose of rubbish and heard the infant’s cries.

Eyewitness Mumuni Seidu recalled the moment the alarm was raised:

“We were seated here under the tree when a girl ran to us saying that she had gone to throw rubbish in the container and heard a child crying inside.”

When residents rushed to the scene, they found the boy neatly wrapped in a fertiliser sack inside the bin.

“We immediately rescued the boy, and he was still alive and crying. So, we gave him to the nurses at Damongo Town Clinic, but we don’t know the mother,” Seidu explained.

The baby was first taken to the Damongo Town Clinic before being transferred to St. Anne’s Catholic Hospital, where he is now under care in an incubator.

Police in the West Gonja Division confirmed they have gathered important leads pointing to the possible identity of the mother and have begun a search for her.

This case follows a troubling pattern in the area. In 2024, newborns were found dead after being abandoned at Attributu and Alhassan-kura, while in February 2025, another week-old baby girl was discovered in a toilet facility at Abinga-kura.

Meanwhile, at St. Anne’s Hospital, a woman who had recently lost her own baby was reportedly seen in tears, pleading to be given custody of the rescued infant.

Authorities say investigations are ongoing to trace the mother and address the growing incidents of child abandonment in Damongo.