The discovery of a new-born baby, which was found dumped in the bushes in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga has rubbed the provincial police commissioner the wrong way.
Commissioner Semakaleng Manamela has urged community-based organisations to work towards the restoration of morality.
“We believe it is paramount for families, traditional leaders, and spiritual leaders to assist in restoring the moral fibre of our society,” said Manamela.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said in a statement on Wednesday that a 27-year-old woman handed herself in on Tuesday and told the police that she had dumped the child on Thursday last week.
Mohlala explained: “Reports indicate that on the said day, 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 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, who said the police are investigating further, shared that the woman remains in police custody and has been charged “accordingly”.
She appeared at the Bushbuckridge magistrate’s court on Wednesday but discovered that the case had not been registered.
The police are investigating further and the child is in the hospital under strict monitoring.
Meanwhile, the Baby Savers SA has launched a petition on its social media pages for government to legalise the safe alternative to unsafe baby abandonment through the use of a baby saver.
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