Zambia, Lusaka: Zambia police shifted the 11-year-old boy and his ailing father to an isolation ward within the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) after a horde of people visited the health facility on different occasions claiming to know the child and wanting to take custody of him.
This occurred after last week’s incident in which Zambia Police published the story of the boy who has been solely looking after his sick father, Reuben Musuakuma, as other relatives are nowhere to be seen. And the Social Welfare Department has secured an orphanage in Lusaka to take the boy for safety.
Meanwhile, a philanthropist, Remmy Kangwa, has donated food and clothes, among other necessities, to supplement efforts by the hospital in taking care of the boy and his ailing father, who is still on an oxygen machine.
Philanthropist Remmy Kangwa said, “We are shocked that after the published story of the abandoned boy and sick father, some people have been trekking to the adult ward where Musukuma was admitted since his arrival, claiming they are the boy’s relatives.”
“And what is more shocking is that we were finding some people walk into the ward, call out the boy’s name, and when he goes to them, they would tell him that they have come to pick him up, even without approaching any medical personnel here,” a nurse said.
Furthermore, the nurse continued by saying, “This worried us a lot, and we feared that the boy might just go missing, and that is why we have opted to move them from that ward to this safer place.”
“And we have asked the boy to stop walking alone along any corridor and avoid standing near open windows. This is all for his safety,” another nurse said.
However, residents seemed happy with the administration’s decision; one of the users said, ” Very good Job well done, UTH management and Remmy Kangwa. God bless you and your family.”