The Ejisu Divisional Police Command has arrested the parents and an uncle of a five-month-old baby allegedly stolen at the Asafo Market in Kumasi after they falsely accused a woman of being responsible for the theft.

The baby was reportedly stolen from the Cape Coast Bus Terminal section of the Asafo Market, at the area known as Opera Site, in the early hours of Sunday, September 20, 2026.

The parents, Freda Owusu and Emmanuel Acheampong, lodged a formal complaint at the Asokwa Police Station on the day of the incident, prompting police to launch a manhunt.

Subsequently, the Ejisu Divisional Police Command arrested a woman, identified as Aliya Salomey, who was travelling with a baby on board a VIP bus heading towards Accra.

According to police, her interaction with the infant aroused the suspicion of fellow passengers, who lodged a complaint at the Ejisu police station upon reaching the town, leading to her arrest.

She was held in police custody and later granted bail after her husband appeared at the station and testified that she was his wife and that the baby belonged to them.

According to the Ejisu Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Samuel Kofi Gamson, no official report of a missing child had been filed at the Ejisu station at the time the suspect was granted bail.

Later, Freda Owusu, her husband Emmanuel Acheampong, and Mr. Osei Kuffour, a relative of Freda Owusu, went to the Ejisu Divisional Police Command and claimed that the woman who had been granted bail was the one who stole their baby.

Police showed the family a picture of the baby who was in the custody of suspect at the time of her arrest.

The family identified the child in the picture as their missing baby and also identified a photograph of Aliya Salomey as the alleged thief.

The family also circulated the claim on social media that the baby found with Aliya Salomey was their missing child.

Following the complaint, the Ejisu Divisional Police intensified efforts and re-arrested Allah Salomey for further investigations.

An identification parade was subsequently conducted in the presence of the complainant’s family to determine the identity of the child in the suspect's custody.

After the parade, the parents admitted that the baby was not their missing child.

"The complainants, upon physical inspection during the identification parade, admitted that the baby is not theirs, contrary to their earlier claim when they were shown a photograph," a police source told JoyNews.

The development has left the family in a difficult legal situation.

The parents and their uncle were subsequently arrested for providing false information and defaming Aliya Salomey, after they had earlier insisted, including on social media, that the child in her custody was theirs.

The three suspects remain in custody at the Ejisu Divisional Police Command and will be screened and processed in accordance with the law.

Meanwhile, police say arrangements are being made to conduct a DNA test on the baby found in the custody of Aliya Salomey to scientifically establish maternity before she is formally cleared of the child-stealing allegation.

Meanwhile, investigations into the whereabouts of the missing baby continue.

Police have appealed to the public to provide credible information to the Asokwa or Ejisu Divisional Commands to help find the child.