Police in Lusaka have arrested two University Teaching Hospital (UTH) maids for stealing and selling a baby.

For a meagre K3,500, the two maids at the country’s biggest referral hospital tossed away their mops, brooms and other cleaning utensils to stage a dramatic baby-stealing and selling operation.

Police have however withheld the identities of the two maids.

According to those privy to the incident, Precious Nkunika delivered a baby at the UTH on April 29, 2022 but unfortunately the child died on May 7.

Sympathetic to her loss, the two maids offered to compensate Precious with another newly-born baby whose mother was recuperating within the UTH.

While Precious waited for her deceased baby to be cremated, the two maids went to work with the objective of finding a replacement.

The duo then identified Dalitso Banda who had been recuperating in the UTH after giving birth as their suitable victim and carried out the theft.

However, a week later police have recovered the stolen baby from Kabanana in Lusaka and have arrested Precious, her mother and the two thieving maids.

Police deputy spokesperson Danny Mwale confirmed the theft and arrests to journalists in Lusaka this morning.

Mwale said the four suspects are in police custody and the baby is still with the police pending paper work so that it can be given back to its parents.

-Kalemba