Balikis Adeoye, a 37-year-old mother from Dagenham, faced an unimaginable tragedy when her two-year-old daughter, Mazeedat, drowned in just 9cm of water in a garden bin. At the time, Balikis had no choice but to leave her daughter with someone she barely knew because she needed to be at the hospital with her baby boy, who had undergone life-saving heart surgery.
Balikis had no family or friends in the UK to help care for Mazeedat and relied on Newham Council for support. She had asked them repeatedly for help in finding a temporary foster placement for Mazeedat. However, the council failed to provide the necessary assistance.
Instead, social workers told her to look for help within the community or rely on acquaintances, despite knowing she had no one she could trust. Left with no other options, she made the difficult decision to leave Mazeedat in the care of someone she didn’t know well.
On January 29, 2022, as Balikis and her son were preparing to return home from the hospital, Mazeedat went missing from the house where she had been staying. After a frantic search, she was found in a garden bin that contained just a small amount of water. Sadly, she had drowned. Paramedics tried to save her, but she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
An inquest into Mazeedat’s death revealed that it could have been prevented. The coroner found that there had been serious failures by both Newham Council and those caring for Mazeedat.
The council had missed several opportunities to arrange a safe foster placement, which would have ensured proper care and supervision. The inquest also revealed that the council’s social services team had treated Balikis poorly, showing a “culture of hostility” and “dehumanizing” behavior towards families like hers, who had no access to public funds.
Balikis, who had moved to the UK from Nigeria in 2021, described Mazeedat as a happy and loving child who brought light to her life. She said that losing her daughter has caused her unimaginable pain and heartbreak. “Mazeedat was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ll always cherish the short but precious time we had together,” she said. Despite her grief, Balikis hopes that sharing her story will lead to changes in how councils support vulnerable families, so no one else has to endure the pain she now lives with.
The council admitted that Mazeedat’s death was a devastating tragedy and said they had since made changes to improve their services. These improvements have been recognized by Ofsted, which now rates their services as “Good.” The council also promised to review the inquest findings and take further action to ensure such failures do not happen again.
The coroner’s report criticized the council for not fulfilling its legal duties under the Children Act, which requires them to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, regardless of immigration status. The report also highlighted how the council’s approach to families without access to public funds created barriers to support.
Balikis’ lawyer, Juliet Spender, described the case as a tragic example of how vulnerable families can be left without proper care and support. She said, “This tragedy could have been avoided if the council had provided appropriate foster care for Mazeedat.” Balikis remains determined to see changes in the system and hopes that her daughter’s death will not be in vain.
