Newborn baby abandoned at police station in Gqeberha

Police have opened a case of child abandonment and are trying to trace the mother of a newborn baby boy that was left at the entrance of Mount Road Police Station in Gqeberha in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“It is reported that at about 2am, a police official was walking towards the vehicle when she heard the sound of a crying baby coming from the entrance at the pedestrian gate,” Colonel Priscilla Naidu said.

“The baby was found on the floor in the corner. He was wrapped in a black and brown towel and a white blanket. The child was taken to Dora Nginza [Provincial] Hospital.”

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Naidu said police are investigating a case of child abandonment.

“Anyone who can assist in tracing the mother or may know of anyone who may have been recently been pregnant and no longer has a child, is asked to contact Saps Mount Road on 041 3946316 or 041 394 6243. All information is confidential, and callers may remain anonymous.”

In a maize meal bag

In November last year, a baby girl was recovered in a maize meal bag dumped on a railway line in Dalmanuta, Belfast, in Mpumalanga.

As in Tuesday’s incident, police reached out to the public for information that could help trace the baby’s mother.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, security personnel were patrolling along the railway line when their attention was drawn to the baby’s cries.

“On closer inspection, the baby girl was found inside the maize meal bag. Police and paramedics were summoned to the scene where the child was stabilised and referred to the medical facility for further attention,” Mohlala said.

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In a pit toilet

Three weeks before that incident, and also in Mpumalanga, a newborn baby boy was found inside a pit toilet in Ronaldsey Trust, Ximhungwe, near Bushbuckridge.

According to Colonel Donald Mdhluli, the baby was heard crying, which attracted people’s attention.

After informing the authorities, they dug behind the pit toilet and successfully saved the baby, who still had his umbilical cord attached to him.

Additional reporting by Chulumanco Mahamba.