Durban baby: kidnapping charges withdrawn

Two people charged in connection with "kidnapping" a month-old infant last week have been granted bail of R1 000 in the Durban Magistrate's Court.

Two people charged in connection with "kidnapping" a month-old infant last week have been granted bail of R1 000 in the Durban Magistrate's Court.

Published Mar 15, 2017

Share

Durban – Two people charged in connection with "kidnapping" a month-old infant last week have been granted bail of R1 000 in the Durban Magistrate's Court.

The paternity of the bay remains unknown.

The man accused of taking her has claimed that he is actually her father.

It was initially believed that another man – her mother's husband – was her father.

The matter came before the Durban Magistrate's Court on Monday, when it was adjourned for DNA testing to be done.

On Wednesday, no mention of the results was made, but a previous charge of kidnapping has been withdrawn.

The baby's mother was believed to have had an affair with the man who allegedly took the infant on Friday and this has resulted in some uncertainty regarding paternity.

The man, along with the mother, are facing charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

They were arrested at the weekend, in connection with reports she had made to police on Friday – that she had been hijacked and her baby, kidnapped – which now now appear to have been false.

Following a large-scale search, the woman’s car was recovered in Montclair some hours after the “hijacking” but there was no baby inside.

Then police pulled a car over at the Mariannhill Toll Plaza – between Pietermariztburg and Durban – during the early hours of Sunday morning and found the man who has now been charged with her kidnapping, as well as another woman and the baby inside.

It is alleged that the baby’s mother gave the man her car and her baby, voluntarily.

The other woman has since been released due to insufficient evidence against her.

#NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara speaking outside court after #DurbanBaby case @TheMercurySA @IOL pic.twitter.com/oRjIIto6Mi

— Bernadette Wolhuter (@bernwolhuter) March 15, 2017

The Mercury

Related Topics: