Four months after her child died beside her in a police cell far from home, a Grahamstown mother finally buried her 5-month-old baby.
Four months after her child died beside her in a police cell far from home, a Grahamstown mother finally buried her 5-month-old baby.
Phaphamile Dumasile and Nolubabalo Jali, of Transit Camp, were arrested in Ntabankulu, 500km from Grahamstown, in November. Their baby, Inam Jali, was with them.
Inam died while the family of three was in police custody, only days after their arrest.
Her parents struggled for months to have her body returned to their Grahamstown home, where they finally laid her to rest this week.
Jali told Grocott's Mail she and her boyfriend had gone to visit relatives in Ntabankulu when they were arrested. Grocott's Mail has respected her request not to disclose the reason for their arrest.
In a telephone interview with Grocott's Mail yesterday, Mount Ayliff police spokesperson Captain Mlungisi Matidane said an 18-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man were arrested in Ntabankulu on 8 November. Matidane said the couple were arrested while they were with their five-month-old baby.
"The baby started vomiting between the 9th and the 10th and eventually died," he said. According to Matidane, Jali woke up on 10 November and found the baby dead.
Her body was taken to a government mortuary and an inquest docket opened. Matidane said the post-mortem results revealed that the cause of death was pneumonia.
However, after the legal processes had been completed, the family couldn't afford the cost of bringing back the infant's body.
They approached local undertakers Titi Funerals to help them.
Speaking to Grocott's Mail after Inam's funeral on Wednesday, Jali said they had asked the station commander of Ntabankulu Police Station to help bring back their baby's body.
Jali said they were arrested on a Friday and their baby died that Sunday.
They were acquitted in court the next day.
"When we realised that we were not going to get help from the station commander we asked Titi Funerals for help to bring the baby here."
Owner Siyabulela said the baby's parents had asked him for help to transport the baby's body from Mount Frere to Grahamstown.
He arranged her burial on Wednesday.
Titi said he had tried to persuade police forensic services from Bisho to help transport the baby's body from Mount Frere to Mthatha. He would do the rest.
He expressed disappointment that the police hadn't helped transport a baby that had died in police custody.
"I ended up going to fetch the baby's body myself at Mount Frere, because they refused to meet us halfway. The condition of the baby was deteriorating," he said.
Inam's body was buried at Mayfield Cemetery on Wednesday 5 March.
