Six months after an abandoned baby was dumped down a Maun street in Chobe ward, the police have had no luck tracing the little girl’s parents or relatives.
Estimated to be just over a week old when she was found, the infant was discovered on 29 January discarded in a plastic shopping bag near a church.
Giving The Voice a brief update, Maun Station Commander, Joseph Lepodise revealed they have gone through the long list of women and girls who gave birth in health facilities in the area at the time but to no avail.
“It is quite a mountain of records that we are going through. It is a slow process but eventually we believe we will be able to trace the mother,” maintained the top cop, adding the list contains hundreds of mothers.
The baby remains at Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital and, according to Lepodise, is doing well.
“For now that is a safer and healthier environment for her. The hospital will advise once she is ready to be removed from hospital. If the relatives have not be found by then, she will be taken to a home environment where she will be raised and that is another process because whatever has to be done, will be in the best interest of the child,” he stressed.
The baby was discovered by a 56-year-old woman who was walking from Shashe ward to Wenela.
According to the police report she was startled by a baby’s cry among the tall grass next to the road; upon closer inspection she found the baby inside a plastic bag.
Clothed in a cream white jumpsuit, the baby appeared to have been a little over a week old as her navel was seemingly healed.
Lepodise pleaded for those who may have information on the child’s mother, father or relatives to report to the nearest police station.
