Hospital Refuses To Hand Over Baby To Deceased’s Family

AUTHORITIES at Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital in Ndola have refused to hand over a two-week-old baby to the family of its dead mother without proof of paternity.
The body of Ms Mapoma, 34, a teacher at Lubuto Primary School in Ndola, was retrieved by fishermen from Kafubu River last Wednesday and the baby was discovered by passers-by near a sawmill.
They took it to the hospital where it has been receiving treatment. Police are still investigating Ms Mapoma’s death.
Copperbelt commissioner of police Mary Tembo said yesterday that the process of releasing the infant is tedious because it involves not only the police but also the social welfare department.
“The social welfare department is handling the matter,’’ Ms Tembo said.
Authorities at ADH insist that they need supporting documents to prove the paternity of the child and a police report before they can release the infant to its mother’s relatives.
Ms Tembo also said Ms Mapoma’s postmortem report has not yet been released by hospital authorities.
“Sometimes the postmortem report takes long and once the report is ready, it is presented to the police and the family,” Ms Tembo said.
Meanwhile, Ms Mapoma’s family is shocked by the circumstances in which she disappeared from home.
Her parents Robin and Maggie Mapoma said they only realised that their daughter was missing from home around 05:00 hours last Tuesday.