Back-street circumcisions revealed during probe

AT least a handful of back-street circumcisions were carried out on infant boys in the Waterford area at around the same time as the one which caused the death of a Nigerian child last week.

Gardaí are still trying to find the person who carried out the procedure on four-week-old Callis Osaghae at his parents’ home in the city. He died at Waterford General Hospital after the operation last Monday week, leading to a major garda investigation to find the man responsible.

During the probe, gardaí have learned from health workers that a number of non-medical circumcisions have been carried out in the same region in recent weeks.

“From our investigations so far, we have reports of five or six cases in Waterford on boys born during the same few weeks as the child who died,” a senior garda said last night.

It remains unclear whether all the procedures were done by the same individual whose botched operation led to last week’s tragedy. It is believed the man in question was paid € 200 for the job, but he has evaded gardaí so far.

Circumcision is a strongly cultural practice among members of the Jewish and Islamic faith, and in families from a number of African countries.

At the time of the incident, gardaí issued a description of a likely suspect, a man with white hair in his early forties, possibly from Northern Ireland, and driving a red estate car. However, the picture is less clear since the investigation team has spoken to members of the immigrant community in the south-east.

Gardaí in Waterford have appealed to all health workers to let them know about any circumcisions not carried out professionally, even if they have not received complaints.

The Irish Refugee Council said they have also been told of a number of circumcisions taking place outside hospitals in the recent past.

“The advice we are giving is that people should only use reputable and suitably qualified medical practitioners for this kind of procedure. People may be taking advantage of the lack of services but some individuals might be under pressure to provide the service,” said council chief executive Peter O’Mahony.