KIDNAPPED OSIZWENI BABY: Young mother desperate for an end to her nightmare

A desperate mother pleads with her baby’s abductors to bring her daughter back home.

Simphiwe Nlamlenzu is living in a recurring nightmare since the disappearance of her seven-month-old daughter, Luyanda from the Boxer Centre in oSizweni two months ago, and can find no comfort.

ALSO READ: JUST IN: oSizweni SAPS needs help locating kidnapped baby

She agreed to be interviewed for the Amajuba Eyethu and the Newcastle Advertiser.

“I remember being at the Boxer Centre to draw my grant money. I was there with an old classmate and Luyanda. We were listening to a preacher perform when a woman standing behind me started playing with my baby. She told me that she was tired of standing and was looking for a place to sit down.”

The young mother said she accompanied the woman to a bench.

Simphiwe’s friend in the meantime went to make a purchase at a pharmacy, after which the woman encouraged Simphiwe to buy her something to eat and gave her some cash.

“She gave me money to go to a nearby store to buy a sandwich. I wanted to take Luyanda with me but the women offered to look after her while I went to the shop. After a while, my friend approached me in the store and asked me where my child was. I said that she was outside with the woman, but my friend said they had disappeared.”

Despite immediately looking for Luyanda, there was no trace of her or the woman.

“We did not even take the sandwich, we just left it in the shop because we wanted to search for my child. After a while, we contacted SAPS when we realised my child and the woman were both no longer in the vicinity of the centre.”

Simphiwe said it was hard to go on without her daughter, and was heartbroken each time Luyanda’s brother asked where his sister was.

“Luyanda’s father and I are worried sick about her. We just want her to come home. I sometimes think it would be less painful if my child was dead rather than this not knowing where she is or what has happened to her.”

Simphiwe described her child’s abductor as in her 40s with a dark complexion and a pear shaped body type.

“She was clearly into fashion and makeup. She was wearing a white shirt, a long skirt and a black jacket on the day she took my child. I don’t know who she is, and I have never seen her before that day, but if I had to see her again I would immediately recognise her.”

READ NOW: Police launch nation wide search for oSizweni kidnapped baby, Luyanda

The Newcastle Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit urges anyone with any information on the identity or whereabouts of the suspect[s] to come forward, and report to Investigating Officer, Constable Thokozani Mthimkhulu on 082 696 7953.

“The only way to help baby Luyanda and her family is if we all work together. We will continue to work around the clock and follow up on potential leads until we find her and return her safely to her family,” said Cst Mthimkhulu.

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