A University of Limpopo student would not be admitted back into her residence after she was arrested for allegedly dumping her newborn baby in a pit toilet.
The 22-year-old stayed at an off-campus residence in Mamotintane village, opposite the university’s Turfloop campus in Mankweng.
The off-campus residence does not belong to the university.
The infant girl was discovered Tuesday morning by the landlord, Marothi Mamabolo, who said he was told about the dumped baby by his wife, who noticed blood on the toilet seat.
“My wife saw the blood when she went to dump used diapers,” said Mamabolo.
The pit toilet is located in the yard next to the one Mamabolo and his family occupy.
Mamabolo owns both stands.
“The pit toilet is no longer in use. In fact, the students have their own flushing toilets,” said Mamabolo.
The landlord said that if the suspect was released on bail, she had to look for alternative accommodation. “Unfortunately, she is no longer welcome here,” said Mamabolo.
“In future, we will tell tenants who fall pregnant to look for an alternative residence.”
He said he regarded all the tenants as his own children and would have expected the suspect to have approached him if she had personal problems.
The dead baby was retrieved from the toilet by the police and taken to a government mortuary.
A post-mortem was expected to be done to determine the cause of death.
Although Mamabolo wants nothing to do with the suspect anymore, the university has pledged to stand by its student.
Kgalema Mohuba, the university’s spokesman, said: “While we regret the incident, we will give our student emotional support.”
The suspect is a third-year BA Administration student. She comes from Neil Park in Mokopane.
Police said her parents had been informed.
Mankweng police spokesman Constable Moses Molepo said a case of concealment of birth had been opened.
The woman was due to appear in the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
A foetus was found on campus at the University of Venda in January. There has been no arrest in this case.
The Star