A newborn baby discovered by Extension 6 residents was buried last week as a pauper after its parents or family did not come forward to claim it. The baby's body was found near DD Siwisa Primary School last Tuesday by two boys who were playing near the area.
A newborn baby discovered by Extension 6 residents was buried last week as a pauper after its parents or family did not come forward to claim it. The baby's body was found near DD Siwisa Primary School last Tuesday by two boys who were playing near the area.
The baby, who was only a couple of hours old, was discovered hidden under a rock. Khuthala Tshazi-Gqutyana, a social worker, was summoned to the scene and verified that the umbilical cord was still attached. "It was a gruesome dicovery when we saw an infant with its umbilical chord hanging and sanitary pads propped up its mouth," she said.
Tshazi-Gqutyana added that the infant's body was taken by porters to the mortuary for a pauper's burial as its parents were nowhere to be found. "This is not just an embarassment to the Grahamstown community but also to the Eastern Cape provincial government as a whole," she said.
She advised women to either opt for an abortion or apply for a social grant, rather than "throwing your baby away. If all else fails, one may anonymously hand the child over to the Department of Social Develeopment," she advised. Tshazi-Gqutyana urged those who have information about similar incidents of parents who dump their children to report the matter to the department, so that "an example could be made about such cruel parents".
Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said they have opened an inquest docket and that a possible charge of child abandonment may be on meted out.
