Byline: Nonjaabuliso Nhlambo

08 March 2023

In or around November or December 2021, two women aged 26 and 16 who are friends got pregnant and decided to conceal birth by making a concoction to drink.

According to reports, both women drank the concoction and the pregnancy of the 26-year-old woman was successfully illegally aborted. Meanwhile, the 16-year-old girl did not succeed. 

It is alleged that they therefore came up with a plan of saying the baby was for the 26-years-old and  went to eMmbalenhle, Ext 19 clinic to open a file of pre-natal visits where the 16-year-old girl used the details of the 26-year-old woman.

Constable Busisiwe Mthethwa, spokesperson at eMbalenhle SAPS, said the women went into hiding in Nhlazatje until, the 16-year-old gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

 “The pair came back to Embalenhle where everything was registered under the false names of the 26-years-old.

The older friend then told her boyfriend that  she had given birth to a baby boy. 

The couple proceeded to register the child and the child at the department of home affairs as theirs,” explained Const Mthethwa.

Mthethwa further said, “This went on until the biological mother and fake mother had a fight against each other because the fake mother ill-treated her child in her presence. 

The biological mother went to the fake father’s family and told them the truth about the baby”. 

The matter was reported  at eMbalenhle SAPS where both women were arrested and appeared before the Evander magistrate court.

The 26-year-old woman  was released on warning and the 16-year-old kept in a youth care centre at Hendrina due to the non-availability of a  guardian  in court who would care for her.

The teenage girl was due to appear for the appointment of a guardian on Wednesday, 08 March 2023, which case could not proceed due to the employee strike at Evander magistrate’s court. Meanwhile, the case against the 26-year-old woman was postponed to Tuesday, 16 March 2023