Cape Town - A woman accused of kidnapping her friend’s eight-month-old baby claims the mother loaned the infant to her in exchange for R10 to buy tik.
Miranda “Mindy” Julies, 37, made the shocking allegations after she was released on a warning on Thursday at the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court where she is facing a charge of abduction.
Julies was set free on strict conditions and was placed under 24-hour house arrest, meaning she is not allowed to leave her mother’s home in Scottsdene unless she is attending her court case.
She's also been banned from contact with five witnesses, including the infant's mother.
The matter was postponed to March 9 for further investigation.
Prosecutors are set to prove Julies kidnapped baby Lucus Cedras from his home in Hartebees Street, Scottsdene, on January 10, after she allegedly asked the baby’s grandmother if she could show him to her mother.
But she never returned with the baby.
On January 12, Julies’ own mother turned her over to police, and the child was found unharmed at a house in Nellie Street, Scottsdene.
A day later police said they found Julies under a bridge in Kraaifontein.
Simone Cedras and baby Lucus. Picture: Bertram Malgas/Daily Voice
On Thursday Julies claimed mom Simone Cedras, 29, gave Lucus to her for the day “in exchange for R10 for a sakkie (bag) tik”.
Simone has five other children, but only Lucus lives with her.
Julies said: “I asked her if I could get the child for the day.
“She said 'Mindy, you can get the child but we don’t have hot water to wash the child'. I gave her the R15 so that she can buy electricity to wash the child.
“I told her, ‘Simone, if I don’t come home the Tuesday [the same day] with the child, I will bring the child the Wednesday’."
Julies claims little Lucus was neglected.
“She [Simone] said she doesn’t have clean clothing for the baby, I said ‘give the child just like that in that dirty crawler and I will go and look for clothing where I am going with the child’.
“I gave her the R15, then she asked me for another R10 saying she wants to buy a tik sakkie.
“I said awe, jy verkoop eintlik jou kind aan my vir die dag vir ‘'n tik sak. (So you are actually selling your child to me for a day so you can buy tik.)
“Then I went with the child to my boyfriend who lives in Retreat.
“He wasn’t at home and I came back to the camp [Scottsdene] and sat there when I heard on the Thursday on the radio they are looking for Miranda Julies.”
Julies said her intention was to take the child back home on Thursday but that she was frightened.
“I thought to myself I cannot take this child to them [family] because they will beat me up," she said.
“I took the child to my friend and I gave her a bag full of clothing for him.
“The Friday I handed myself over to police because this thing bothered me, my face was everywhere.
She adds: “I am very much for children, I have even raised my five-year-old nephew since birth. I am used to looking after children after my own children died.”
Simone, however, said the child was never sold for R10 tik and that she only asked for a R30 for electricity.
"I charge people R30 to braid their hair, that is why she [Julies] was here by me that day," she said.
"I only charged Mindy R15 because we know her well. She did not give me money in exchange to keep my son.
"I would never offer up my child like that."
Earlier this week, Julies’ mother Regina revealed that her daughter suffered from womb cancer, and that she had had one miscarriage and had lost two other infants.