Monday, November 11, 2024

South Africa baby ‘abduction’: Mother and lover arrested

Must read

Nigerian High Commission apartments in Ghana demolished

Some new apartments built at the residence of the Nigerian High Commissioner in Ghana’s capital city Accra, have been demolished by bulldozers. The apartments have been constructed to...

Covid-19: Ghana records significant recovery numbers

Ghanaian health officials on Saturday said over 10,000 persons infected with the coronavirus have now recovered. The significant number of recoveries means the country now...

DR Congo: President’s ex-chief of staff jailed 20 years for corruption

The ex-chief of staff of the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been jailed 20 years by a high court. Vital Kamerhe was...

Covid-19: Zimbabwe’s health minister arrested, charged for graft

Zimbabwe's Health Minister Obadiah Moyo has been arrested over corruption allegations related to procurement of medical equipment worth $60 million. Moyo is accused of illegally...
Isaac Kaledzihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Kaledzi
Isaac Kaledzi is an experienced and award winning journalist from Ghana. He has worked for several media brands both in Ghana and on the International scene. Isaac Kaledzi is currently serving as an African Correspondent for DW.

The mother of the baby whose alleged abduction sparked a national manhunt in South Africa has been arrested.

One-month-old Siwaphiwe Mbambo was found alive and well around midnight on Saturday.

The mother had told police that she was taken during a car-jacking outside a shopping centre in the South African city of Durban on Friday.

But a police official has accused her of making the crime up, after the baby was found with her boyfriend.

The 34-year-old woman appeared at the Durban Magistrates court on Monday but her case was postponed to Wednesday because her lawyer was not present, and also to allow police to compile a full charge sheet, BBC’s Milton Nkosi in South Africa reports.

The court also ordered the police to obtain the DNA of the baby girl to determine who her father is.

The boyfriend, and a woman thought to be his other girlfriend, have also been arrested.

“This was a false case and cost us money and resources that could have been deployed in other places‚” said Maj Gen Bala Naidoo‚ KwaZulu-Natal deputy provincial commissioner for the detective service, according to The Herald newspaper.

The abduction sparked a huge media campaign and a search by 100 officers.

The mother had reported that two people stole her car, driving off with the baby.

Both she and her husband made impassioned pleas for their baby to be returned.

Many South Africans were moved by the case, and went on Twitter, using the hashtag #HelpFindDurbanBaby, to urge anyone with information to come forward.

However, further investigation by the police led to the mother’s boyfriend.

Baby Siwaphiwe was found in his car, when he was driving with a woman who appeared to be a girlfriend at Mariannhill Toll Plaza.

Local media said the baby had been kept at his house in New Hanover.

Gen Bala Naidoo told The Mercury newspaper that the mother’s hijacking report did not add up.

“At the time her explanation seemed out of sorts. It did not make sense to our seasoned bunch of detectives,” he said.

Her abandoned Toyota Yaris was found in Montclair, southern Durban, on Friday afternoon.

The infant’s baby seat had been removed from the car.

Police said the father was no longer speaking to the media.

The baby is currently being looked after by social services.

Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane said: “We commend our members for the arrest of the three people involved in the alleged kidnapping and hijacking of the baby.

“However, it is unfortunate that one of the people taken into police custody is the mother of the baby herself.”

Car hijackings are common in South Africa, with many people installing tracking devices in their vehicles.

Last year, incidents in the country increased by 14.3% on the previous year, meaning that on average 40 cars were hijacked per day, according to the latest statistics.

 

Source: BBC Africa

- Advertisement -

More articles

- Advertisement -

Latest article

Nigerian High Commission apartments in Ghana demolished

Some new apartments built at the residence of the Nigerian High Commissioner in Ghana’s capital city Accra, have been demolished by bulldozers. The apartments have been constructed to...

Covid-19: Ghana records significant recovery numbers

Ghanaian health officials on Saturday said over 10,000 persons infected with the coronavirus have now recovered. The significant number of recoveries means the country now...

DR Congo: President’s ex-chief of staff jailed 20 years for corruption

The ex-chief of staff of the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been jailed 20 years by a high court. Vital Kamerhe was...

Covid-19: Zimbabwe’s health minister arrested, charged for graft

Zimbabwe's Health Minister Obadiah Moyo has been arrested over corruption allegations related to procurement of medical equipment worth $60 million. Moyo is accused of illegally...

Ghana’s new law that jails citizens not wearing facemask 10 years

Ghanaians who fail to wear the face masks in compliance with a presidential directive risk going to jail for ten years. They also face a...