Mother arrested for dumping newborn in bushes in Bushbuckridge

A mother was arrested after she dumped her naked newborn baby in bushes in Bushbuckridge. 

THE NAKED LITTLE BABY WAS FOUND BY TWO WOMEN 

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, the newborn was found last week Thursday by two women who were walking past. 

“Two ladies were walking on the street at College View in Bushbuckridge next to a school when they heard a strange noise of a child crying in the nearby bushes. 

“As they drew closer, they then discovered an abandoned infant who was probably about a day old. Police were then alerted, and the baby was taken to hospital whilst a case of child neglect was opened for investigation,” Mohlala said. 

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DAYS LATER THE MOTHER CONFESSED 

He said the mother went to the police station on Monday and confessed to dumping her baby. 

“The woman was arrested and charged accordingly.” 

The baby is still in hospital, where she is being monitored while police continue to investigate the matter. 

Meanwhile, the Mpumalanga Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela condemned the incident.

“We believe it is paramount for families, traditional leaders, and spiritual leaders to assist in restoring the moral fibre of our society.” 

ABANDONMENT OF BABIES ON THE INCREASE? 

List of babies who had been abandoned since September last year: 

• On 23 February 2022, the tiny body of a newborn baby was found along Plein Street in Cape Town
• On 12 November 2021, an aborted foetus was discovered in a rubbish bag on College Lane in the Durban Central Business District
• On 19 September 2021, a newborn baby was found dead in the Blaaupan dam in Bonaero Park, South East Kempton Park
• On 17 September 2021, the body of a newborn baby was found washed ashore on Brighton Beach in Gqeberha 
• On 14 September 2021, a newborn foetus wrapped in a rubbish bag was found dumped at the Phoenix taxi rank in Durban

DESPERATE MOTHERS URGED NOT TO DUMP THEIR BABIES

“Abandonment of infants in South Africa is, unfortunately, a common occurrence.

“Many of these children are left to die, or simply abandoned, in dustbins, open fields, public toilets, or on train tracks,” The Door of Hope organisation said.

The organisation knew that something needed to be done

ALSO READ: Watch: Desperate pregnant mothers begged not to dump their babies

“In 1999 the Berea Baptist Mission Church said, “something needs to be done”. Under the leadership of Pastor Cheryl Allen, the church made a hole in their wall and a ‘Baby Box’ was installed allowing for mothers to leave their babies any time day or night for the church to take care of them,” the organisation said.

The moment a baby is placed, care workers on duty receive an electronic signal alerting them. The baby is taken in and the anonymity of the “donor” is ensured.