The Kolda Central Police Station's Urban Security Unit arrested a couple on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in connection with a suspected infanticide. Detectives were alerted by the regional medical officer to a suspicious case involving a young woman initially admitted to the Sikilo Ouest health post. Upon arrival, investigators quickly identified the suspect as a housewife residing in the Zone Lycée neighborhood.

When questioned by police, the on-duty midwife stated that the patient had come in on June 20th complaining of severe abdominal pain, before hinting that she had given birth at home and that her family had already buried the newborn. The following day, the husband personally contacted the midwife, this time claiming that his wife had told him she had given birth at the health center itself and that the medical staff had handled the burial.

Faced with these radically contradictory and highly suspicious accounts, the national police were immediately assigned to the case. The midwife also told investigators that the pregnancy had reached almost full term, estimated at thirty-seven weeks of amenorrhea. When questioned in turn by the officers, the woman who had just given birth completely changed her story. She then claimed to have given birth en route on June 19th to a six-month-old stillborn fetus, just after her husband refused to take her to the hospital to deliver the baby. She told investigators that she subsequently abandoned the child's body in a completely secluded spot, hidden under leaves.

When questioned by the police, the husband, a street vendor, categorically denied his wife's accusations, refuting that he had refused to assist her at work. Initial findings and a thorough search of the area indicated by the mother by law enforcement unfortunately proved fruitless: no body was found, and the neighborhood inquiry was unsuccessful. Given the extreme gravity of the situation and the numerous inconsistencies in their respective statements, both husband and wife were taken into custody for questioning.