NELSPRUIT – The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has strongly condemned a sad incident in which a newly born child was found abandoned in the bushes at Bushbuckridge. Meanwhile a 27-year-old woman was apprehended yesterday, 07 March 2022 after she went to Bushbuckridge Police Station and reportedly claimed that she deserted her child on Thursday, 03 March 2022.

Reports indicate that on the said day, 03 March 2022, 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 the 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.

On Monday, 07 March 2022, when the said woman alluded to the fact that she was the mother of the infant, police locked her up and charged her accordingly. The woman is not off the hook yet, however today (08 March 2022) when she was taken to Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court for her appearance, the case was not enrolled pending investigation. The child is still in hospital where she is being monitored meanwhile the probe continues.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela further made a clarion call to society for a moral regeneration. “We believe it is paramount for families, traditional leaders and spiritual leaders to assist in restoring the moral fibre of our society” commented the General.

Source: South African Police Service