The baby found abandoned on the pavement of Milner Street on 5 April was taken to a safe place, following hospital checks, and the Department of Social Development is still looking for the boy child’s parents, according to spokesperson Mzukisi Matinise.
A case of Child Abandonment was opened for investigation by the Grahamstown SAPS after the newborn baby was discovered. Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said a doctor from Settlers Hospital had been driving along Milner Street around 2pm that Thursday and noticed a group of women with a small baby.
“He stopped and on enquiry he was informed that the mother of the baby is unknown and the infant was found along the street,” Govender said.
Mzukisi Matinise, who is the Communications Officer for Social Development in the Sarah Baartman District, said there is a list of parents who have applied to adopt children and, as is the Department’s practice, one of these parents was given the child to care for.
Matinise said the Department allows prospective adoptive parents to care for a child for 90 days while they are busy looking for the parents.
“After 90 days, if the parents are not found, the Department will run checks on the adoptive parents to establish whether they are fit to take care of the child,” Matinise said.
The Department’s head must then make a recommendation to the Children’s Court which will make a final decision. The adoptive parents are then given permission to register the child’s adoption and obtain a birth certificate.
“At the present moment, the child is being cared for by his [prospective]adoptive parents,” said Matinise.
