Kimberley - Two Beaconsfield children, playing outside on Wednesday afternoon, made a gruesome discovery when they found a severed arm, believed to be that of a newborn baby.
Residents called the police after the young children, aged four and five years old, alerted them to the arm, which was lying on a dump site opposite a row of the houses in Brockman Place.
The grandmother of one of the children, Magdalene Sobekwa, said: "I was inside and my son told me that the two children had found the arm of a baby. He said that he was walking past the two boys, who were playing outside, when they casually told him about the arm. He went in for a closer look and saw that it was that of a human baby."
She said the arm looked as if it had been ripped off but the fingers were still intact.
"The flesh on the arm was torn and the hand also had bite marks on it. All five fingers were there, however, as well as the fingernails. There were drops of blood in the vicinity and toilet paper covered in blood was scattered close to the area where the arm was found," she said.
She added that they were not sure where the arm came from.
"There was no container or plastic bag close to the arm. However, people dump their refuse here and I am not sure whether the bag or container may have been ripped open by dogs. The arm was lying on the ground but it was not decomposed. One could see that it was the arm of a newborn baby. I heard one of the forensic officers say that it was the left hand of a baby," Sobekwa said.
She added that although this is the first time that such a gruesome discovery had been made, the open veld next to the railway line had been a problem for a while.
"We have complained on numerous occasions about the veld that does not get cleaned and the illegal dumping of garbage.
"We were more worried about our safety as some youngsters are doing drugs in the veld," she said.
Police spokesman, Captain Olebogeng Tawana, said they are investigating.
"The police opened an inquiry after a body part, which appears to be an arm and skin of a baby, was found in Beaconsfield.
"A passerby from the Beaconsfield community alerted the police following the gruesome discovery.
"Any person with any information that may help the police in the investigation can contact the investigating officer, Kenneth Lamoen, on 083 377 2677 or 053 838 4208."
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