East London magistrate Michelle Pillay has been accused of keeping her former domestic worker’s eight-month-old daughter against the mother’s will.
The mother, 27-year-old Phumza Kadeni, says the magistrate is violating her basic human rights by keeping her infant away from her without her consent.
She also accused social workers of siding with Pillay by telling her that she couldn’t raise her child in her one-room shack.
The mother from Mzamomhle said Pillay had fired her in January and then denied her access to her child.
She said Pillay was holding onto the baby and refusing to return her, or even allowing Kadeni to see her own child.
The Dispatch called Pillay to get her side of the story, but she abruptly said: “I’m not speaking to you. Bye!” She then hung up.
Kadeni said when she started working at Pillay’s Gonubie home last year in March, she was already five months pregnant, but needed the money to survive. She said she had never anticipated that her poverty would lead to her having her daughter taken away from her.
“I cry myself to sleep every night. I miss my child. I’m not even allowed to see my daughter. My rights to my own child are being infringed.”
She gave birth in July last year, but was expected to return to work a month later.
“She expected me to be at her house at 7am, where I’d work until 7 or 8 in the evening before taking taxis – or even walking – back to Mzamomhle with my child.”
She said when Pillay offered to look after the child in the evenings while Kadeni went home, she never expected it to be a sign of what was to come.
“Mrs Pillay said that instead of ferrying up and down with the child in the cold weather I should leave her behind. I told myself that this was a kind gesture from my boss who loved me and my child.
“I trusted and loved Pillay and her family and I thought they did us too, but there was no love – they were just using me.”
She said towards the end of the year she began noticing that Pillay would become vindictive and hysterical whenever she wanted to take her baby home with her.
“I wasn’t even allowed to spend Christmas with my child. They , only brought her to me in Mzamomhle for about two hours before taking her back with them. I found this very strange, but felt powerless to do anything about the situation because she was my madam .”
Kadeni said things took a turn for the worse in January when she asked for some time off, and was told by Pillay to take a week off, but to leave the child behind.
“They went to Port Elizabeth for a weekend with my child, without telling me. When they came back, I went to their house and stood at the gate shouting, demanding that she give back my child. That is when she fired me, and told me to report her at the police station, but she wouldn’t be giving me my child back.”
To add to Kadeni’s woes, she said that when she pleaded her case at the Gonubie police station, officers laughed in her face and told her to be grateful that Pillay was giving her child a luxurious life.
“They told me that I couldn’t allow my child to live in luxury for months and then come to them claiming that I want to take my baby back to a shack, and they told me to go to social workers.”
She said she went to social workers in Southernwood. “The social worker there told me that I can’t just take my baby from a luxury life back to the shack. It was against the interests of my child. I told them that if my shack was not good enough my child could go to my mother in Centane.”
She said since then, the social workers had conducted no assessments nor given her feedback.
The Dispatch accompanied Kadeni on her attempt to visit her daughter at Pillay’s house on Wednesday, but the visit was futile, as Pillay told her to come back to her house with social workers.
Colette Williams, the supervisor overseeing Kadeni’s case at social work NGO CMR, said she was unauthorised to comment on the matter. She said her supervisor would return to the office today and they would only comment then.
Masimanyane director Lesley-Ann Foster said: “According to the law, it’s in the best interest of a child to be with its mother. This is a gross violation against the mother of this child. No matter what her living conditions, you can’t take a child away from its mother without her consent. It’s completely wrong.”
Department of social development spokesman Mzukisi Solani said: “When the welfare of children is concerned, assessments are done to see where the child would be most protected.
“There should be an investigation conducted. The department will conduct an investigation.”
The Dispatch asked the provincial police if they were going investigate her claims, but provincial spokesman Khaya Tonjeni had not responded by the time of going to print.
‘Magistrate stole my baby’ - Domestic worker who lives in poverty battles to get her child back
The mother, 27-year-old Phumza Kadeni, says the magistrate is violating her basic human rights by keeping her infant away from her without her consent.
She also accused social workers of siding with Pillay by telling her that she couldn’t raise her child in her one-room shack.
The mother from Mzamomhle said Pillay had fired her in January and then denied her access to her child.
She said Pillay was holding onto the baby and refusing to return her, or even allowing Kadeni to see her own child.
The Dispatch called Pillay to get her side of the story, but she abruptly said: “I’m not speaking to you. Bye!” She then hung up.
Kadeni said when she started working at Pillay’s Gonubie home last year in March, she was already five months pregnant, but needed the money to survive. She said she had never anticipated that her poverty would lead to her having her daughter taken away from her.
“I cry myself to sleep every night. I miss my child. I’m not even allowed to see my daughter. My rights to my own child are being infringed.”
She gave birth in July last year, but was expected to return to work a month later.
“She expected me to be at her house at 7am, where I’d work until 7 or 8 in the evening before taking taxis – or even walking – back to Mzamomhle with my child.”
She said when Pillay offered to look after the child in the evenings while Kadeni went home, she never expected it to be a sign of what was to come.
“Mrs Pillay said that instead of ferrying up and down with the child in the cold weather I should leave her behind. I told myself that this was a kind gesture from my boss who loved me and my child.
“I trusted and loved Pillay and her family and I thought they did us too, but there was no love – they were just using me.”
She said towards the end of the year she began noticing that Pillay would become vindictive and hysterical whenever she wanted to take her baby home with her.
“I wasn’t even allowed to spend Christmas with my child. They , only brought her to me in Mzamomhle for about two hours before taking her back with them. I found this very strange, but felt powerless to do anything about the situation because she was my madam .”
Kadeni said things took a turn for the worse in January when she asked for some time off, and was told by Pillay to take a week off, but to leave the child behind.
“They went to Port Elizabeth for a weekend with my child, without telling me. When they came back, I went to their house and stood at the gate shouting, demanding that she give back my child. That is when she fired me, and told me to report her at the police station, but she wouldn’t be giving me my child back.”
To add to Kadeni’s woes, she said that when she pleaded her case at the Gonubie police station, officers laughed in her face and told her to be grateful that Pillay was giving her child a luxurious life.
“They told me that I couldn’t allow my child to live in luxury for months and then come to them claiming that I want to take my baby back to a shack, and they told me to go to social workers.”
She said she went to social workers in Southernwood. “The social worker there told me that I can’t just take my baby from a luxury life back to the shack. It was against the interests of my child. I told them that if my shack was not good enough my child could go to my mother in Centane.”
She said since then, the social workers had conducted no assessments nor given her feedback.
The Dispatch accompanied Kadeni on her attempt to visit her daughter at Pillay’s house on Wednesday, but the visit was futile, as Pillay told her to come back to her house with social workers.
Colette Williams, the supervisor overseeing Kadeni’s case at social work NGO CMR, said she was unauthorised to comment on the matter. She said her supervisor would return to the office today and they would only comment then.
Masimanyane director Lesley-Ann Foster said: “According to the law, it’s in the best interest of a child to be with its mother. This is a gross violation against the mother of this child. No matter what her living conditions, you can’t take a child away from its mother without her consent. It’s completely wrong.”
Department of social development spokesman Mzukisi Solani said: “When the welfare of children is concerned, assessments are done to see where the child would be most protected.
“There should be an investigation conducted. The department will conduct an investigation.”
The Dispatch asked the provincial police if they were going investigate her claims, but provincial spokesman Khaya Tonjeni had not responded by the time of going to print.
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