Port Elizabeth – Two women accused of aborting 25 foetuses and disposing of the bodies appeared briefly in the Port Elizabeth magistrate’s court on Thursday.
The case against them was postponed for further investigation and for the state to take instruction from the Director of Public Prosecution.
A registered nurse, Lulama Cabela, and her alleged receptionist, Babalwa Cabela, were arrested in February and are facing 25 counts of concealment of birth. The women are currently out on bail of R5 000 each.
The arrests followed an ongoing investigation into illegal abortions in the Nelson Mandela Bay area.
The state did not oppose bail and previously said the offences fell under a schedule 1 offence.
The investigating officer’s affidavit revealed how he had obtained a search warrant and went to visit the clinic in Central Port Elizabeth and discovered frozen foetuses in red packets packed to the brim in a freezer.
“I went into the office and opened a chest freezer, I opened red packets which contained frozen foetuses. I also confiscated medicine, equipment and documentation used for abortions,” the affidavit read.
Police discovered several foetuses packed into a deep freezer, with 25 of the bodies being fully formed.
Police earlier said that the ongoing investigation followed complaints from a hospital which dealt with complications in patients that arose from illegal abortions.
The charge sheet indicated that Lulama Cabela was employed as a registered nurse at a facility which provided pre-natal and post-natal care to mother and child.
The state alleges that the nurse used the facility and her home to perform abortions on pregnant women from the 13-week gestation period onwards.
The case against them was postponed until June 30.
African News Agency