Times Of Swaziland: PUPILS FIND NEWBORN DUMPED IN BUSH

PUPILS FIND NEWBORN DUMPED IN BUSH
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BY MELISA MSWELI on 10/12/2020 01:36:00


NHLANGANO – Two pupils made a shocking discovery of a newborn who was dumped
in a small bush yesterday.
The incident happened in Nhlangano town and it is suspected that the baby girl
may have been dumped by her mother.
According to some of the people who were interviewed, the baby was discovered by
two Grade VI pupils who were passing by the small bush using a path on their way
home from a nearby shop.
It is said that the minors raised the alarm and a few people gathered to look at
the baby placed next to a path.
Jersey
The baby was wearing a big jersey without a nappy while the bottom part was
covered with a cloth.
The baby, who is estimated to be less than seven days old, still had her
umbilical cord attached to her.
“One of the men who had assembled there called a police officer who was close
by, who came to the scene,” narrated the source.
It was gathered that the police officer, Sergeant Dumisani Fakudze, picked up
the child who was crying.
It is said that efforts were made to organise an ambulance and or police van,
but with no success until Fakudze walked for at least one kilometre with the
baby in his arms to the police station.
It was established that the baby is  currently in hospital where she is being
checked.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Phindile Vilakati confirmed
the incident.
She also confirmed that the baby was being taken care of at the hospital and
that the parents were still unknown. “We request members of the public who
might have information on a missing newborn baby to inform the police,” she
said.
Warned
She further advised the person responsible to hand herself in. In the past,
police officers had warned against baby dumping.
This warning was made during crime prevention campaigns where residents were
advised that they should use paternity tests usually referred to as DNA testing
when they did not know the paternity of their children.
It was mentioned during the campaigns that most of the dumping was done when the
supposed father of the child disputes the being the parent.
Police officers had advised residents that DNA testing was affordable and it
could help save many children from being dumped.