Cape Town – The accused in the Zephany Nurse kidnap case has apologised to the Nurse family for what they went through “all these years”, but has maintained that she was not the woman who kidnapped the infant 19 years ago.
The woman, who cannot be named to protect Zephany Nurse’s new identity, denies that she was at Groote Schuur hospital on April 30,1997, the day the three-day-old girl was snatched from her mother’s bedside.
The baby girl had been born to Celeste and Morne Nurse on April 28, 1997, by Caesarean section.
The soft-spoken accused told the Western Cape High court on Tuesday: “I’m very happy you found your child. I’m really sorry Celeste. I never took the child out of Celeste’s arms. I didn’t know the baby was stolen. I am really sorry for the Nurses for what they went through all these years. I did not know that she was kidnapped.”
Earlier on Tuesday, she admitted that she had lied to police when they arrived at her house on February 25, 2015 armed with a search warrant.
She conceded that she had, in fact, told them that she and her husband were the biological parents of the child in question.
She also told the police that the baby was born in Retreat, despite knowing that that was not the case.
When prosecutor Evadne Kortje asked her why she had not told the police the truth, she said “because I myself did not know the truth”.
#ZephanyNurse: witness can’t remember accused
The Lavender Hill woman claims that when she visited Tygerberg hospital in December 1996 because she had miscarried her own child, she met a woman called Sylvia.
She has told the court that Sylvia offered to help her with fertility or an adoption process.
When the fertility pills that she paid an R800 deposit for, failed to work, she opted for adoption.
On April 30,1997, she claims she arranged to meet Sylvia at the Wynberg train station where they would discuss the adoption process. But was surprised when a stranger arrived in her place and handed her a baby.
The stranger instructed her to go to Retreat hospital and phone Sylvia from there, which she did.
#ZephanyNurse: ‘Not in my nature to steal children’
Despite having a “horrible feeling that something was wrong” she told Judge President John Hlophe she did not report the matter to police as she “didn’t think about police at that time”.
She insisted that when the Hawks visited her home in February last year, she did not tell them the truth because “I myself don’t know the truth”.
She vehemently told the court: “I have done nothing wrong.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the prosecutor questioned her about the child’s birth certificate which was sent to her in 2003, almost six years after her birth.
The accused insisted she did not apply for it, and never went to Malmesbury where the birth registration forms were handed in.
After several evasive answers, the packed public gallery laughed at her, and the judge swiftly adjourned proceedings for several minutes.
As Judge Hlophe left the courtroom, she walked back towards the dock, looked up at Nurse family members and said: “Clowns can laugh at everything.”
The woman's husband is expected to take the stand next in her defence.
African News Agency