Five To Pay For Kidnapping And Selling Baby In South Africa
A couple in Mariannhill in Durban, South Africa are hoping that their son, kidnapped five months ago, will soon be returned to them. The baby, now 11 months old, was kidnapped and sold for R5 000 ($424).
The parents of the baby met the five people who were allegedly involved in the kidnapping and sale on Thursday, when they appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court.
Tazley Msweli, Sbongile Ndimande and Thembi Cele were allegedly the actual kidnappers in the case, who sold the child to Catherine and Rajendra Ramlatchman. All five were in court facing charges of kidnapping and child trafficking.
Durban mom speaks of baby kidnapping nightmare http://t.co/AdZnZadBAf
— Daily News (@DailyNewsSA) March 6, 2015
According to police spokesman Thulani Zwane, in October last year two women had posed as social workers. They approached Tania Sewpersad, 27, the mother of the child and asked her to accompany them to Pinetown in South Africa.
On arrival, they gave the mother a certain amount of money and told her to go buy something for the baby, saying they would keep him for her. When Sewpersad returned from shopping, she found the women had disappeared with her baby.
After Msweli and Ndimande posed as social workers to get their hands on the child, it is alleged that, with the aid of Cele, they then sold him to the Ramlutchmans.
After continuing investigations, the police found the baby in an apartment in the Durban city center this week. Catherine Ramlutchman was arrested on the scene together with her domestic worker, who according to IOL has a link with the kidnapping suspects.
The Mercury reports that Sewpersad and the baby’s father, 34-year-old Hasan Moosa, have had an extremely “difficult” five months without their child, particularly the mother, who could not cope with the situation.
“I was not coping. I could not sleep or eat. I would just sit and think about whether he was alive. If he was getting fed or not.”
The parents told the Mercury they had been able to see the child on Tuesday and that they believe he is their lost baby. The baby’s father is demanding justice in the matter, but the mother says they have to be patient while DNA tests are run to confirm his identity.
“I was so happy to see him. He has grown up, but he is our son. We just have to be patient and wait for the DNA tests to be done.”
IOL reports that on Thursday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court, the three alleged kidnappers applied for legal aid and the State has adjourned the case to next week for bail considerations. The matter will continue on March 9.
As to the couple who bought the baby, their attorney, Arvina Haricharan, was against the adjournment and asked that her clients be released on bail. Haricharan states that the South African couple had cooperated with the police investigation and that they may plead guilty in the case.
In other related news, the Inquisitr recently reported on the tale of another baby, kidnapped 17 years ago in South Africa, who has recently been found, completely by coincidence.
[Image: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Cary and Kacey Jordan]
