Alex child dumper arrested in Springs

An Alexandra woman has been arrested in Springs, Ekurhuleni, in connection with the dumping of a newborn baby in Marlboro, Sandton on 29 January.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela said the woman (19) was arrested on 6 February following a tip-off from a member of the public, who called after seeing the story in one of the Caxton Newspapers.

Police followed her all the way to Springs and found her with some friends; when confronted with the allegations, she admitted having dumped the baby but claimed she did so because she did not have enough money to support the child.

The unemployed woman will be charged with the abandonment of a newborn baby. She said she gave birth to the baby at the Alex Clinic but lied to relatives, saying that the infant had died at birth.

Maphakela said the child was doing well at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital where it was taken soon after being picked up from the street in Marlboro. The fate of the child will be decided by social workers.

UPDATE: 10am

A newborn  baby was found abandoned in Marlboro on 29 January.

Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela, spokesperson for the Bramley police said the baby girl was found crying by a passerby at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 4th Street. “The baby had a hospital name tag and her name is Midlis Changwa, she was born on 29 January at 1.20pm,” he said.

Maphakela said the police established that the baby was born at a hospital in Alexandra. The police found the baby’s hospital file and went to the address listed. “When the police arrived at the house, there was no one who knew about the baby or the mother,” said Maphakela.

He said the baby was found in good health. The man who found the baby immediately took her to the police station and she was currently being looked after at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

Lungiswa Mvumvu, the public relations officer at the hospital said, “Unfortunately we are not at liberty to give information on the specific case of the abandoned newborn baby.”

However, Mvumvu said the protocol the hospital usually followed in cases of abandoned babies was that social workers conducted a thorough assessment of the child and obtained immediate medical assessment from the hospital.

“The social worker contacts the police with information gathered, then they complete a statement of abandonment,” she said. “If the child is fit to be discharged, the social worker involved then obtains a case number from the investigating officer responsible for the case and refers the child to the department of social development or an appropriate registered welfare organisation.”

Puseletso Matshaba, a Family Life Centre social worker in Alexandra said, “There are many reasons why mothers abandon their babies. Sometimes it is because of a breakup with the boyfriend or family, leaving the mother without any support. Sometimes it is poverty. Most mothers cannot afford to feed or take care of their babies. Some mothers abandon their babies in the veld because they do not know where to go.”

Matshaba said Rays of Hope in Alexandra was a good refuge for troubled mothers to seek help.

“We are appealing to the community to come forward with any information about the parents or any family members of the baby,” said Maphakela. An investigation is still underway.

Details: Sergeant Johanna Mboweni; 076 782 2906