A woman in about her 50s, who identified herself only as “Mambathane”, has allegedly kidnapped a one-month-old baby boy, Iyana Nkumbi, in East London.
The kidnapper may have driven off with the infant in the boot of a white VW Polo hatchback.Baby Iyana was wearing white pants, a yellow jersey and had a navy bag which had a flask inside, a bottle of milk, a dummy, clinic card and medicine.
The woman befriended the child’s 34-year-old-mother, Nomfusi Nkumbi, at a clinic, and then took the mother and child to the Amalinda Shoprite mall, where she sent the mother inside to buy medicine for the infant. When the mother returned from the store, the car, the woman and the baby had vanished.
SAPS members arrived on the scene 10 minutes after the Dispatch arrived and had called the police. Led by Cambridge police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi and followed a few minutes later by patrol officers, a hunt was launched for the child and kidnapper.
Nkumbi said the woman had only introduced herself by a clan name, “Mambathane”. Nkumbi said the woman claimed to be from Peddie and said she worked for the South African Social Services Agency’s East London office. Shopper Nomfusi Nwele said her five-year-old daughter Ninomtha might have witnessed the abduction in progress.
“She yelled ‘Mama why is she putting the baby in the boot’, but I looked around quickly and saw nothing. We had just pulled into a parking place to rush inside the store.“A few minutes later, there was a commotion about a stolen child. “I am heartbroken,” said Nwele. Nkumbi said the woman, who presented herself as being “caring”, was wearing a white top and white skirt with brown stripes and had a natural hair style.
A distraught Nkumbi said baby Iyana was born on December 17 at Frere hospital, weighing 3.8kg. “The woman asked me if I was getting a Sassa grant for Iyana. I said no, so she promised to help me with an application for the baby as well.”
Nkumbi said she had met the alleged kidnapper at Duncan Village clinic earlier on Friday, and the the woman had offered her a lift back home to Amalinda.
“She was very caring, she told me about her sick old mother who had apparently been transferred to Frere Hospital, so when she heard I was heading back to Amalinda, she said she was going that way and offered me a lift,” the weeping mother said.
Nkumbi said even though the the clinic had given her medication for Iyana's lip sores, the woman insisted on buying glycerine for the infant. “She first said she would give me money for the glycerine, but later changed her mind saying that she didn't trust me with it, I might spend it for something else.”
Nkumbi said when they reached the Amalinda mall, the woman gave her R50 to purchase the glycerine and said she would look after the baby inside the car. When Nkumbi emerged from the store 15 minutes later, the car was gone, along with her baby. Nwele said the child was snatched at 2.55pm.
Captain Mbi said a case of child theft had been opened. “It was not a kidnapping because the mother handed over the baby to the woman.”He urged mothers not to give their babies to strangers...