Child left at daycare for 10 months

MANZINI – A 23-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly abandoning her three-month-old baby at a daycare centre in Mahlabatsini, for a period of 10 months.

The mother, *Cynthia, who is a sex worker, purportedly left her child in search of a way to make a living. She was charged with violating Section 48 (1) of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act of 2012. The case is currently pending in court.

According to the charge sheet, the accused unlawfully and intentionally abandoned and neglected the baby at a daycare centre for a period of about 10 months. This is said to have happened upon or during the month of June 2023 at or near Mahlabatsini.

The accused pleaded guilty to the charge. When leading evidence, the daycare owner, Boniswa Shongwe said parents usually sent their children to the daycare centre and fetched them in the evening or afternoon. On this particular day, the daycare owner relayed that the complainant brought her child to the centre but never returned to fetch her. She said the accused left the minor with baby milk formula and disposable nappies. She said the minor was about three months old when her mother abandoned her.

The daycare owner said months went by without Cynthia showing up, such that she did not know what to do with the child. The owner mentioned that she stayed with the baby for about five months, before she reported the matter to the Social Welfare Office, which took the child to a halfway house.

Meanwhile, the accused who revealed that she was a sex worker, said she had gone to hustle for the child. She said she, however, had challenges which compelled her to not return for her young one. The Child in Need of Care and Protection Report stipulated that the minor was born between the accused and a South African man, who could not avail himself in court as he was reportedly turned back due to lack of travel documentation.

Findings

According to the findings of the report, Cynthia lived with her child for at least six weeks before abandoning her at the daycare centre. It was revealed that the accused was raped at the age of eight years and only pursued her education until Grade VII in 2016. In 2017, the report disclosed that she gave birth to her first child. It was further revealed that despite an attempt to work at a textile firm in Matsapha, the accused could not generate enough income to cover her basic needs.

It was then that she reportedly went to clubs, where she would hook up with men who she had sexual relations with. It was also disclosed that her friends advised her to start making these men pay for sleeping with her and putting herself at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

*Not real name to protect minor and alleged survivorr of rape>