25/04/2026
"You Are Not Alone" How Ntchisi Police women network rally around mother who abandoned baby*
What began as a case of child abandonment ended with an act of compassion on April24th 2026, after members of the Ntchisi Police Women Network stepped in to support a young mother who said she felt she had no other choice.
The woman, whose name is being withheld to protect her privacy, was apprehended by community policing members and brought to Ntchisi Police Station after they discovered her one-month-old baby boy abandoned.
Speaking to police, the distraught mother explained the chain of events that led to her desperate act. She already had a first child whose father plays no role in their life. When she fell pregnant again, the father of her second baby also abandoned her. With nowhere else to turn, she returned to her own father’s house.
But instead of refuge, she said she faced constant verbal abuse. “My father was always shouting at me for having two children without fathers,” she told officers. Eventually, he chased her out of the home.
Homeless, with two young children and no support system, she said life became unbearable. In a moment of despair, she made the decision to abandon her one-month-old son.
Her case could have ended with arrest and prosecution. Instead, it took a different turn when the Ntchisi Police Women Network intervened.
Rather than treat her solely as a suspect, the women officers chose counseling and emotional support. They sat with her, listened to her story, and assured her that she was not alone.
Understanding that she had left home with nothing for the baby, the network also mobilized quickly to donate essential items — including clothes, blankets, and formula — to help her care for her son.
In her words of encouragement, the officer in-charge for Ntchisi Police station Miss Jessie Phimba said that many times, we rush to judge without knowing the pain behind someone’s actions.
“Our role as police women
is not only to enforce the law, but to protect the vulnerable. This mother needed help, not just handcuffs.” Said Miss Phimba.
Community policing members who first apprehended the woman have also welcomed the approach, saying it shows how law enforcement can work with social support to address root causes.
The mother and baby are now receiving continued support. Police say the case is a reminder of the pressures many single mothers face, especially when stigma from family and community leaves them isolated.
For this young mother, the message from the women in uniform was simple but life-changing: You are not alone.
*Sub inspector Salomy Zgambo*
*Ntchisi Police PRO*
