The police in Mphephu are still searching for the mother of the infant who was found abandoned in the bushes near a bridge at Ha-Rabali village in Nzhelele on Monday.
Israel Bulasigobo and his friend, Solly Muladi, were sitting at a local car wash near the U-Save in Ha-Rabali at around 10:00 on Monday morning (4 July), when two boys approached them on their bicycles, claiming that they had heard a baby crying in the bushes near the bridge.
"We went to where the boys had heard the baby and saw a black plastic bag in the bushes. There was no crying anymore. Maybe the baby was frightened by the sound of people walking towards it. Solly went into the bushes and gently picked up the plastic [bag]. When he opened it, he found a new-born baby girl inside. We moved her to a cleaner environment and called the police," Bulasigobo said.
According to him, the baby did not look as if she had been left there overnight. "Someone must have left her there recently, although we didn't see anyone. I think it is by the grace of God that she is still alive, because there are a lot of reptiles in the bushes. She could have been attacked or suffocated in that plastic bag."
Bulasigobo said he still felt upset by the whole incident and disappointed in the South African justice system. "If it had been a man who did this, the world would be standing on its head, with women protesting and marching for justice," he said.
In a video circulating on social media, Bulasigobo and Muladi can be seen chasing women away from the scene. "We chased [the] women away because it was a woman who left that baby there."
The police spokesperson in the Vhembe District, Sergeant Tshifhiwa Radzilani, confirmed that a case of child neglect/concealment of birth was opened. "The child was taken to a medical facility where she is currently being kept, and police investigations continue."
The Stop the Spot Youth Organisation, which deals with children's rights, also voiced their concern on the matter. "As an organisation, we strongly condemn this incident at Ha-Rabali. The organisation believes that the baby's life matters, and it is of essence that she is protected. If the mother didn't want the baby, she should have opted for adoption."
Anyone with information on the mother of the baby's whereabouts can contact Warrant Officer Sammy Thovhakale of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit in Louis Trichardt on 079 328 2815.