By Anita Dangazele
A 14-year-old teenage girl from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape was arrested on Saturday for kidnapping a week-old baby.
The teenager allegedly offered to help the new mother carry her bags as she was being discharged from the Mthatha General Hospital.
The baby’s 26-year-old mother said they took a taxi together from the hospital.
“When we got to town, she carried my bags but later complained that they were too heavy, she would rather carry the baby,” the mother said.
“I immediately trusted her. She had a very innocent face and seemed very respectful. I offered to buy her a cool drink to thank her but she vanished with my baby as soon as I went into the shops.”
The mother reported the incident at the Madeira Police Station in Mthatha.
Police spokesperson Captain Welile Matyolo said police immediately circulated information about a lost child, resulting in the suspect’s arrest within hours.
“The suspect was arrested at the Mthatha General Hospital where she was trying to register the child as her own,” Matyolo said.
The baby was reunited with her mother on Sunday.
The suspect, a grade 8 pupil from Bhaziya village in Mthatha, spent the weekend in holding cells.
According to police information, the girl’s mother asked that she be kept in police custody, saying that she could not guarantee that her daughter would attend court proceedings on Monday.
However, on Monday the suspect’s mother asked that she be released into her custody so she could start the new academic year at school.
Why the young teen stole a newborn has left everyone confused.
The teenager is expected to appear before the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on 15 February.
In the same province in June 2023 a Gqeberha teenager was arrested for kidnapping a baby after befriending the mother and then tricking her into leaving the baby with her. The case is ongoing.
Pictured above: Illustration Image.
Image source: File
