Baby Masana case plagued by postponements
The little girl's mother who is out on bail hopes to have her day in court soon.
The young mother who tried to ‘safely abandon’ her baby in a place where the newborn girl would be quickly helped to have a better life has yet to have her day in court.
On October 8, 2022, she placed her hours-old baby girl on a pavement in Roosevelt Park and ensured she was helped by pretending to be a pedestrian who discovered the little bundle.
Sophiatown police member and head of the Social Crime Prevention desk Sergeant Masana Rikhotso, after whom the little girl is named said, “She is thriving in the place of safety where she is being kept while the legal process continues.”
Her mother turned herself into Sophiatown Police Station mere days after the terrible act when she emerged from the mental crisis she had found herself in after delivering the baby alone at night when the father abandoned her.
She is out on bail for the time being and is cooperating with authorities while the case is dealt with in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. DNA tests are being carried out to confirm she is the mother. She has made several court appearances but par for the course delays and postponements are taking their toll on the mother and her family.
After speaking to the Northcliff Melville Times when she handed herself in, she wished she knew that there were safe places where desperate mothers can leave their babies across the city, called Baby Saver Boxes. The paper was also on the scene in Fairland recently where a foetus was discovered discarded in a black refuse bag, although the circumstances of this case are as yet unknown.
If you, or someone you know, are struggling with a crisis pregnancy, please visit www.babysaverssa.co.za.
