THE early days of a newborn baby’s life are precious for both mother and child.
But this wasn’t the case for Ntombi Ntuli (32) from Siyanda, north of Durban in KZN.
Her two-week-old baby boy, Kuhlekonke, was stolen from her on 20 May.
The distraught mum told Daily Sun it pained her that she was not with her fourth child.
“I was on my way to the hospital to do my baby’s birth certificate. I then decided to buy something to eat,” she said.
Then she met an old schoolmate while buying food.
“I was with her in grade 8 at a school in KwaDabeka. We spoke pleasantly and even exchanged numbers. She was happy we bumped into each other and said we should plan a visit.”
While they were talking, Ntombi needed to use the toilet before heading to the taxi.
“I asked her to look after my baby. I trusted that she would do that without any trouble.”
And when she came back, the woman was not there.
“I went to nearby shops to check if she was there, but there was no sign of her. I tried to call the cellphone number she gave me, but it took me straight to voicemail,” she said.
Ntombi said that she even searched for her on social media, where there was no sign of her.
“I’ve tried to locate her through the people we went to school with, but nobody knows where she is. One of our schoolmates said she used to live in Nkandla but left after she allegedly stole another woman’s baby,” she said.
Ntombi added that she was praying to find her baby alive.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said a case of kidnapping was being investigated by Durban cops.
Gwala said it was alleged by the complainant that she was on Anton Lembede Street on 20 May when she left her baby with a woman she knew from school and went to the toilet.
“When she returned, the woman was nowhere to be seen, with her baby. The matter is still under investigation,” she said.
