A 40-year-old woman is expected to appear in the Mkhuhlu Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, after a newborn baby was thrown into a pit toilet in order to conceal his birth.
The woman was arrested by members of the Acornhoek family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit (FCS) on Tuesday afternoon at Matikwana Hospital in Mkhuhlu, near Bushbuckridge.
Earlier on Tuesday, police in Mpumalanga announced that they had launched a manhunt for a woman who dumped the newborn baby boy in a pit toilet on Sunday morning.
The child was abandoned at a church in Ronaldsey Trust, Ximhungwe near Bushbuckridge.
“Members of the public heard a cry of a baby inside a pit toilet. They then alerted the authorities and dug behind this pit toilet and managed to rescue the child whose umbilical cord was still attached to him,” said provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
After being rescued, the baby was then taken to hospital for treatment. A case of child neglect was also opened by the police.
“The incident has been strongly condemned by the management of the SA Police Service in Mpumalanga. Members of the public are urged to make use of services from social workers, faith-based-organisations and other structures in the community rather than to take bad decisions,” said Mdhluli.
Earlier this year, IOL reported that a 23-year-old woman, a mother of three children, was arrested in Mpumalanga for attempted murder of her newborn baby.
At the time, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the horrific incident happened in April, at a house owned by the woman’s male friend situated at Matangaleni Trust near Mkhuhlu.
“It is alleged that the pregnant woman from Bushbuckridge visited her male companion for the first time,” Mohlala said at the time.
“According to information, the male friend who was eager to meet her, made all necessary arrangements and they both met. On that fateful night, a few minutes before midnight, the woman responded to the call of nature and that was when the baby boy was born,” he said.
“Thereafter, she allegedly tried to conceal the baby’s birth by throwing him in the pit toilet.”
IOL