Uncovered cesspit tank causes death of mother and baby

The tragic and mysterious death of a 34-year old woman and her five months old baby in a public toilet facility recently, has ignited concerns about the poor management of public places of convenience by authorities in Dormaa-Ahenkro.

The woman, Adjoa Afriyie, a hairdresser, and her baby, were spotted floating on the surface of a cesspit tank of the NT toilet facility which had been unknowingly filled with water.

Barely a month after that unfortunate incident, the tank from which the corpses were retrieved when the GNA visited, still remained unclosed with wawa boards laid on top of it,.

The cesspit tank is still in a deplorable condition, maximizing the probability of similar re-occurrence in future, because nothing concretely has been done by authorities concerned to safely secure the mouth of the cesspit tank.

The mouth of the tank, which is a huge opening, was supposed to be expertly designed and sealed with concrete under lock, but it is always left widely opened with flies hovering around it.

Wooden boards have been placed as temporary cover instead of concrete slabs by the caretakers of the facility, to keep the mouth of the tank closed and secured.

Till now, there’s absolutely no sense of urgency from authorities to put the right measures in place to prevent another occurrence to safeguard the lives of members of the general public,

The bodies of the two persons were first retrieved from the pit by personnel of the Fire Service upon a tip – off and have since been buried.

Their death attracted huge public outcry and condemnation with suspicions and speculations from residents of ritual killing, particularly against the deceased’s father who had come under heavy criticism for coming out boldly to disclose that the daughter was suffering from high fever that possibly led to her death.

“People have strongly accused me of saying that my daughter had suffered from high fever prior to her demise. They suspect I had gone to sacrificed her for supernatural powers for some monetary gain, but this is untrue”, Mr. Kwaku Manu stated.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Dormaa – Ahenkro, Mr. Manu, a dental mechanic said he spent an amount of GH¢ 3,000.00 footing the medical bills of the daughter after he had taken her to the B rong-Ahafo Regional Hospital.

“All the drugs we took from the Hospital for her treatment are still with us because she wouldn’t take anyone of them”, he added.

Eunice Amoabeng, a sibling of the deceased said her sister’s husband died in 2013 and since then the deceased was not of herself until her death.