The police have since arrested a 26-year-old woman for child neglect on Saturday morning.
Communications officer at Katlehong Police Station, Capt Mega Ndobe said: “It is alleged that a woman who has three-month-old twins (a girl and a boy) on Friday evening decided to go to the tavern, taking one child with her and leaving the other alone at home.
“When she came back the following day, early in the morning, she found the baby dead.”
It is alleged the child was eaten by rats.
The police were informed by neighbours and the landlord where the woman was renting a shack.
“The suspect is expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Court soon,” he said.
According to Noluthando Mtshali, the daughter of the landlord, the twins’ mother left at around 8pm on Friday and came back before midnight.
“She saw the condition of the child but still went back to a tavern to drink. When she came back for the second time it was around 6am on Saturday and she was in the company of a male person.
“She went inside the shack and came out crying to report to my mom that her child was dead,” said Mtshali.
Mamokete Matlala, a friend of the woman, said they were drinking together late at night with the mother of the twins in Emazenkeni.
“As soon as I realised that she was dancing with one child on her back, I asked her where the other one was. She said the child was with her sister inside a car that was parked outside. I went to check and found there was no car parked outside. Then I chased her away. Even other women who were there at the tavern threatened to beat her up if she did not leave at that time. She left because of the pressure from me and other women.
“What surprised me is that she left before us but we arrived at the room before her. I don’t know where she was delayed but when she came she was with a male friend,” said Matlala.
According to Sesi Mtshali, the landlord, she wants nothing to do with the mother of the twins.
“She always brings trouble to my compound. It is even worse this time because we lost a child in this yard. My children are afraid of going out at night. I will lose business because I can’t rent out this room. Who will want to stay in it?
“This affects us a lot – my family can’t sleep because of the trauma,” said Sesi.
Dunyiswa Xhashwe, a neighbour, said she does not believe that rats ate the child.
“I think the mother of the child needs to tell us what she did to her child because I don’t buy it that rats can do something like that to the skin of a person.
“I arrived first at the scene because others were afraid to go inside. I found that the condition of the skin of the dead child was nothing like that of a person who was bitten by rats. It may have been something else.
“I say that because she showed more love to the boy child than the girl. She would always lock the girl child in and bring the boy along,” said Xhashwe.
According to Tinyiko Sithole, the girlfriend to the father of the twins, her boyfriend did not want anything to do with the twins or their mother.
“When the incident was reported to him, he said he does not want to get involved. The reason is that he believed that the twins are not his.
“I asked him to do a paternity test but he delayed because of his busy work schedule,” said Sithole.
Sithole also said after she heard of the number of incidents where the twins’ mother locked the twins inside to go drinking, she asked the mother to let the twins come and stay with her. But the mother refused.
“She always came and made noise in the yard where I stay with my boyfriend, telling me that I took the man away from him,” she said.
Kathorus MAIL went to talk to the tavern owner where the twins’ mother was drinking when the incident happened.
Kholiswa Mlambo, the owner of the tavern, said she did not know anything about the woman who was dancing at her club with the baby on her back.
“I close the tavern at 2am every day. I know nothing about the woman who came here to drink until 4am because the tavern was already closed by that time.”
According to Dumisani Mkhize, who was drinking at the tavern until late that night, he didn’t see anyone dancing with a child on her back.
“I was there. I even helped Mlambo to chase customers out because they didn’t want to leave as they were still enjoying drinking,” said Mkhize.
Police are investigating.
