THE FATHER pleaded, the mother cried – and the shocked nation responded.
How could anybody be so heartless? Who would steal a one-month-old baby?
NOW SUSPICION HAS FALLEN SQUARELY ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE MUM.
The crying mother was interviewed on Saturday, a day after her baby was kidnapped and the people of South Africa, and even people from other parts of the world, felt the mother’s pain.
At the time she said she felt weak following the kidnapping.
The baby’s father, Christopher Mbambo, pleaded with the kidnappers to bring back his child, saying she was still breastfeeding.
“I plead with the kidnappers to bring her home,” he said.
But yesterday, only a day later, the mother who had cried on television, Sibongile Mbambo (34) of Inanda, Durban, KZN was behind bars.
She reported on Friday that her daughter was missing after her car was hijacked near Game City Mall in Greyville, Durban.
Sibongile claimed the men demanded the car keys, forced her and her son (8) out of her Toyota Yaris and sped off with the baby girl in the car. The car was later found abandoned at Montclair, Durban.
On Saturday during a media briefing where both parents were present, police offered a R250 000 reward to anyone who might have knowledge about the kidnapped child.
The search for the baby continued.
At a road block at Mariannhill Toll Plaza on the N3, set up after the cops received some information about the whereabouts of the baby, three people were arrested, including the baby’s mother and two of her family members.
National police spokeswoman Brigadier Sally de Beer said the SAPS invested a lot in this case, including members working overtime and the use of vehicles and aircraft.
“This had a negative effect on resources being unavailable in the fight against priority crimes,” De Beer said.
The police were joined by community members and organisations with an interest in finding the baby.
How was the mum bust?
“Too many inconsistencies emerged during the interviews especially in terms of the initial reporting to the police of how the incident developed. Information generated from the interviews became critical in the setting up of a roadblock in Mariannhill in the early hours of Sunday morning,” said de Beer. She said the baby has been placed in the care of social development.
Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane said: “False claims of crimes that have an entire nation in a state of sorrow and anxiety should be condemned.”
When the People’s Paper called the father yesterday he asked to be given time to deal with the situation.
“I need privacy on this matter. The baby has been found but she is not with me at the moment,” said the father.
