FOUR kids aged between five and eight were playing in the yard outside their house when they discovered a dead newborn boy on Saturday.
They initially thought it was a piece of meat accidentally dropped by a passerby.
Jabu Jwara (40), from Ixopo in the KZN Midlands, said the baby was not like any other abandoned baby, but was a symbol of bad luck intentionally brought to haunt her family.
She said both the little boy’s arms had been mutilated and his umbilical cord was till attached to the placenta.
“I think something terrible happened to his mother.”
Jabu said she felt that her family has bad luck hanging over their heads as a result and only a cleansing ceremony could get rid of it.
“My mind is not at peace and I can’t sleep at night as flashbacks of the little corpse haunt me.
“We have no elders in our family who have a good understanding of cleansing rituals.
I will have to consult traditional healers and elders in the community so they can give me advice,” she said.
She told Daily Sun that the kids were playing in the yard near her house when they noticed a green plastic bag lying on the ground.
“When they opened it, they were greeted by a huge placenta on top. They were excited, thinking it was a piece of meat. My 15-year-old daughter realised it was not meat. Whoever dropped the bag in my garden wanted to shame us and bring us bad luck.
“They targeted my family because they know we have no men or elders to protect us,” Jabu said.
KZN police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said a case of murder was opened at Ixopo Police Station for investigation.“The motive is unknown at this stage and no arrest has been made.”
