Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - The community of Dwarsloop went to sleep with troubled minds early this week after a newborn baby girl was found abandoned in bushes near their clinic in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Mpumalanga.
Shocked by the find, community members immediately surrendered the baby to the nurses at the clinic and shared pictures of their discovery in a community WhatsApp group.
Speculation was rife as to who could be the mother or father of the infant, who was said to be responding to the care of the nurses very well.
A search for the mother ensued yesterday after the find on Wednesday, with many condemning the mother, while others defended her, stating she could have been in a traumatic state of mind.
“Maybe the mother was attacked by criminals in the bushes ... who knows? We cannot judge her,” said a concerned resident working at the local municipality.
Others were angry at the defence, especially given that the semi-suburban Dwarsloop community has been dealing with a lack of water for a week, while their rubbish bins have not been collected for two weeks.
“We have pressing issues as a community. Let the police deal with the baby matter,” someone else offered.
“Even if you have a lot to deal with, you would rather approach social workers for the sake of the baby. Look now, this has turned into a criminal case. The innocent soul was left alone without proper care,” said a young mother.
A community leader suggested that maybe the child was abandoned by a resident from a neighbouring rural area. “I have a good mind that maybe the mother of the child might not be one of our Dwarsloop residents. She just came and dumped the child here knowing exactly that the community would find the baby and take care of her,” she said.
Others speculated further that the mother could be a university student who could be returning from Gauteng but felt afraid to take her newborn baby home.
Later, it was revealed that the baby was transferred from the clinic to Mapulaneng Hospital, less than 10km from Dwarsloop.
However, when contacted for comment, provincial police were still seeking information.
They promised to give an update on the developments.
One resident mentioned the name of a young woman who could assist the police with information regarding the abandoned bundle of joy.
Pretoria News