Liberia: Day-old Baby Missing from Clinic in Kakata

Nelson Kollie, father of a day-old baby, is calling on the Government of Liberia to intervene in the alleged disappearance of his child from the Joseph Korhene Clinic, formerly known as ‘City Clinic’, in Kakata, Margibi County. 

The alleged disappearance of the male child occurred on Sunday, February 13, when Kollie’s pregnant wife was taken to the clinic for delivery.

Mr. Kollie alleged that a few minutes after his wife gave birth, nurses at the hospital injected his wife and the child, rendering both of them unconscious. He added that the clinic staff later told him his child did not survive and needed to be buried near the clinic.

He narrated that the clinic administrator requested him to pay 2,000 LRD as burial fees, the amount he said he went to collect. However, upon his return, the child had been secretly buried by the clinic administrator.  He added that since the incident, he has been making inquiries at the clinic to know where the child was buried but the clinic administrator told him to let things be and offered him and his family free medication as long they don’t give the information to the public.

Nelson Kollie further states that he does not believe that his child is dead; rather there was foul play by the clinic and he is therefore calling on the Margibi County health team, the government of Liberia and civil society activists to launch a proper investigation into the matter.

When contacted, the administrator of the clinic said they reserved all comments because, according to them, “the matter is before Margibi county Health Team.”

However, when asked, the Margibi County Health Officer, Dr. Augustine Farnneh, said he was not aware of the situation, but promised to launch a full-scale investigation into the matter with the City Clinic staff and the family of the missing child.