Mom gets her baby at last
MONTHS of a bitter custody feud between Mzamomhle mother Phumza Kadeni and her former employee, Komga magistrate Michelle Pillay, ended in joy and excitement for Kadeni yesterday when she was given permanent custody of her baby girl.
Kadeni and her 10-month-old child were temporarily united a month ago by children’s magistrate Francois Goosen, who made the order ahead of a final verdict.
Yesterday he ruled that Kadeni was fit to raise her daughter.
“Yes, the interim order was made final,” he said in reply to a question from the Daily Dispatch.
Kadeni and Pillay had been locked in a feud since the beginning of the year over custody of the baby after Pillay refused to return the child to Kadeni after firing her as her domestic.
An excited Kadeni reacted to the ruling saying: “My sleepless nights will finally come to an end. I’ve been so happy. It’s been great having my daughter back home. I am elated that the magistrate ruled in my favour”.
She said she had since moved her little family into a bigger shack to better accommodate both her children. Her eldest son is eight years old. “We last lived together when my daughter was less than two months old, so it’s been good having both my kids with me again.
“I’m thankful this nightmare is finally over and we can finally move on and be a family.”
As Kadeni celebrated her baby’s return, the provincial department of social development deliberately commemorated annual child protection week in Mzamomhle yesterday to raise awareness on matters pertaining to child safety in the community.
MEC for Social Development Phumza Dyantyi led a delegation to the community to highlight the plight of children in the community and province as a whole.
Dyantyi said Kadeni’s ordeal had challenged the department to strengthen its involvement in communities to ensure that children were raised in functional communities. She said Kadeni’s custody feud “could happen to anyone tomorrow, and we all need to be educated on how to handle such matters if they ever arise.”
The Children’s Act articulates prevention and early intervention as its foundation on the preservation and strengthening of families. —