An 11-month-old baby boy, left in a sedan taxi while his mother went shopping on New Year’s Day, is still missing.
The baby’s mother, Yonela Tola, 28, said her son Ngcwele disappeared after she left him sleeping in the taxi with the driver while she went to buy nappies at a Mdantsane Highway shop.
When she returned a short while later, there was no sign of the vehicle or her son.
The drama started after Tola, from NU10, boarded the taxi from NU8 in Mdantsan e to the centre.
She arranged with the driver of the maroon Mazda sedan to wait for her outside the centre.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, a sobbing Tola said a second person was sitting in the front passenger seat but she was not sure if he was a paying commuter or a friend of the driver.
“I asked the driver to take me to Highway and then home,” she said. “He agreed and charged me R80 for the special trip.
“By the time we got to the shopping centre, my baby was asleep.
“I took my shoes off, placed my son on the back seat and told the driver that I am going to buy nappies and he agreed to wait.
“When I got into the shop, I noticed it was full with long queues, so I decided that I was not going to do the shopping and returned to the taxi,” Tola said.
However, the Mazda and its occupants were already nowhere to be seen.
A frantic Tola, walking barefoot, said she started asking taxi marshals and street vendors if they had seen the vehicle.
“Nobody was able to assist me. I began crying and I just started to shout my baby’s name. I looked and looked and hoped that the taxi would come back, but it never did. I left the shopping centre at 8pm that night,” Tola said.
The matter was reported to the Mdantsane police.
Spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said they were investigating a case of child kidnapping.
“Our primary mandate now is to find the child, reunite him with his mother and arrest the suspect. This is a serious case,” he said.
He added: “Our message to parents is that they must never leave their children with strangers. It’s risky. Parents must be responsible for their children’s safety.”
Mzuku said Captain Zitulele Mahlambebi of the family violence and child protection unit had been appointed to investigate the case.
“We are pleading with members of the community who might have information on the whereabouts of the boy to contact Captain Mahlambebi on 082-065-9920. Any information will be treated as anonymous,” Mzuku said.
Taxi marshals and sedan taxi drivers operating in that rank expressed outrage yesterday over the incident when approached by the Daily Dispatch for comment.
Uncedo service taxi association’s transport manager X Rumbu said both the mother and the taxi driver had been at fault.
“We do not even allow people to leave their luggage in our taxis.”
Mawonga Mvelo, who has operated in the taxi industry for more than 20 years, said it was the first time he had heard of a mother leaving a child in a taxi.
Sedan taxi driver Luvuyo Dyatyi said if a passenger left a child in his taxi and failed to return, he would report the matter to the rank manager.
“Then both the rank manager and I would go to the police station to say a child has been left in the taxi. The police will then report the matter to social workers,” Dyatyi said. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Taxi bolts with baby onboard
The baby’s mother, Yonela Tola, 28, said her son Ngcwele disappeared after she left him sleeping in the taxi with the driver while she went to buy nappies at a Mdantsane Highway shop.
When she returned a short while later, there was no sign of the vehicle or her son.
The drama started after Tola, from NU10, boarded the taxi from NU8 in Mdantsan e to the centre.
She arranged with the driver of the maroon Mazda sedan to wait for her outside the centre.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, a sobbing Tola said a second person was sitting in the front passenger seat but she was not sure if he was a paying commuter or a friend of the driver.
“I asked the driver to take me to Highway and then home,” she said. “He agreed and charged me R80 for the special trip.
“By the time we got to the shopping centre, my baby was asleep.
“I took my shoes off, placed my son on the back seat and told the driver that I am going to buy nappies and he agreed to wait.
“When I got into the shop, I noticed it was full with long queues, so I decided that I was not going to do the shopping and returned to the taxi,” Tola said.
However, the Mazda and its occupants were already nowhere to be seen.
A frantic Tola, walking barefoot, said she started asking taxi marshals and street vendors if they had seen the vehicle.
“Nobody was able to assist me. I began crying and I just started to shout my baby’s name. I looked and looked and hoped that the taxi would come back, but it never did. I left the shopping centre at 8pm that night,” Tola said.
The matter was reported to the Mdantsane police.
Spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said they were investigating a case of child kidnapping.
“Our primary mandate now is to find the child, reunite him with his mother and arrest the suspect. This is a serious case,” he said.
He added: “Our message to parents is that they must never leave their children with strangers. It’s risky. Parents must be responsible for their children’s safety.”
Mzuku said Captain Zitulele Mahlambebi of the family violence and child protection unit had been appointed to investigate the case.
“We are pleading with members of the community who might have information on the whereabouts of the boy to contact Captain Mahlambebi on 082-065-9920. Any information will be treated as anonymous,” Mzuku said.
Taxi marshals and sedan taxi drivers operating in that rank expressed outrage yesterday over the incident when approached by the Daily Dispatch for comment.
Uncedo service taxi association’s transport manager X Rumbu said both the mother and the taxi driver had been at fault.
“We do not even allow people to leave their luggage in our taxis.”
Mawonga Mvelo, who has operated in the taxi industry for more than 20 years, said it was the first time he had heard of a mother leaving a child in a taxi.
Sedan taxi driver Luvuyo Dyatyi said if a passenger left a child in his taxi and failed to return, he would report the matter to the rank manager.
“Then both the rank manager and I would go to the police station to say a child has been left in the taxi. The police will then report the matter to social workers,” Dyatyi said. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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