The Social Development Department has deployed a social worker to assist a Gugulethu mother whose 2-month-old baby was found unharmed after allegedly being kidnapped by a friend.
Police had launched a hunt for Sinovuyo Nodali, 32, who had allegedly disappeared with the baby from Kiki Hostels on Saturday. Nodali’s boyfriend had indicated that she had come to the house and collected all her clothing and left. A day before the incident Nodali asked him for money and he gave it to her, he said.
She was arrested in Atlantis the following day. Once she has been charged she will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court.
Social Development spokesperson Sihle Ngobese said: “Social workers from our Gugulethu local office will assist the mother, who has been reunited with her child, with trauma counselling and other social support.
"It is alleged the child was kidnapped on Sunday by the mother’s friend, a 32-year-old woman, who had been asked to care for the baby and its 8-year-old sibling, while the mother was running a shopping errand. (When she returned) the woman had disappeared with the baby, leaving the 8-year-old uncared for.”
In another case, police have traced down a Delft mother they believe could provide answers about how her 9-month-old baby was sexually abused, allegedly under her watch.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the matter had been referred to the Children’s Court. "The prosecutor is yet to make a decision."
Ngobese said: “Our major priority is the welfare of the child. The placement of the child with relatives is satisfactory, and social workers will continue to monitor this."