BRING BACK OUR BABY
South Africans lending the family their support
AN EMPTY cot and bathing basin are the only signs in the Mbambo home that they had just welcomed a new life. Baby Siwaphiwe Mbambo, just a month old, is not home and no one knows when she will return.
She was abducted during a hijacking when her mother, Sibongile Mbambo, 35, pulled over on the side of Stamfordhill Road, in Greyville on Friday afternoon.
The car was later found in Montclair, but there was no sign of the baby. The parents are still hoping she will be found alive as the search for her rolls into a third day.
“I can’t give up hope, that would just kill me. Why would anyone want to harm an innocent child?” said father Felokwakhe Mbambo.
“Siwaphiwe was crying so she (mother) pulled over to feed her and that’s when the hijackers accosted her. They threw her and our eightyear-old son, Muvo, out of the car and drove off with the door on the baby’s side still open because her mother was trying to get her out of the car,” explained Mbambo.
The father of 10 said the family did not suspect anyone they knew and focused all their energy on working with police to find the baby.
“We have no enemies that we know of and right now I can’t even think that far because all my thoughts are on Siwaphiwe.”
He recalled the day she was born, saying it was one of the happiest in his life so he named her Busisiwe because she was a blessing.
“She is such a happy baby and I hope wherever she is she is okay. We worried about what they are feeding her though because she only drinks her mother’s breast milk,” Mbambo said, tearing up.
Mbambo, Sibongile, his second wife, and Muvo were at Durban Central police station yesterday where they met the investigating officer. The distraught Sibongile, who is a teacher and still on maternity leave, said she was not ready to speak about what happened
At their home in umzinyathi, Siwaphiwe’s maternal grandmother, Millicent Ntshangase, 55, said no words could express the family’s anguish. She had last seen the baby before Sibongile left for town on Friday morning.
Relatives, church members and colleagues of the mother were taking turns holding prayers.
“Just three weeks ago, we were excited to have a new baby. Now we are crying and praying for her safe return. I keep panicking, thinking we are missing feeding times, only to remember that there is no baby,” said Ntshangase.
“Is it not enough that they steal and terrorise? Why did they take my grandchild? She’s defenceless. I’m wondering if she’s safe, fed and warm.
“I’m wondering if she’s not scared by voices she doesn’t recognise. She belongs to her mother. She belongs with us. Please bring her back,” Ntshangase pleaded.
A distraught uncle, Zambane Mbambo, 53, said he had been looking forward to meeting the infant. “The first time I saw her was in a newspaper. I cannot hide my pain.
“They had the option of handing her to someone who would have taken her to a hospital. They could have left her on the side of the road,” said Zambane.
Zambane said he went to bed with his phone next to him, hoping for good news. “I knelt down and prayed to God to help bring the baby back home safely. I can’t help thinking about what she is going through at the hands of criminals.”
Durban paediatricians said that one-month-old babies were at a sensitive stage of their development and needed to be fed every three to four hours.
Commenting on the disappearance of Siwaphiwe, Dr Jayandra Narsai said feeding and changing a baby were crucial to development. In the case of Siwaphiwe, if she was not fed at appropriate times, she could dehydrate, lowering blood sugar and possibly leading to a coma.
“Without good clothing and a nappy change, the baby could have changes in temperature, resulting in hypothermia and oxygen problems,” said Narsai.
He said that in their first three months babies were delicate and vulnerable to trauma, brain injury and fractures if not handled with care.
Dr TS (Teddy) Pillay said nutrition and protection from heat loss were most worrying.
“The physiological effect on the mother must be devastating. We must pray they haven’t abandoned the baby or there could be worse consequences,” said Pillay.
Meanwhile, South Africans are rallying for the safe return of the baby on social media.
#Helpfinddurbanbaby has trended on social media since Friday. Not only residents of Kwazulunatal but other South Africans rallied and took to Twitter and Facebook, offering their support to the family.
Pictures of baby Siwaphiwe were widely circulated with calls for the search to be escalated. Members of the public offered their support and some joined the search, which began at the Cato Manor sports ground yesterday morning.
Natalie Jevon Powell said on Facebook that, if anything, this had united Durban. The community labelled Siwaphiwe “our baby” and prayed for her safe return.
Shahieda Kraft said on Facebook that the little girl’s name should be changed to Hope because she had united the country.
Police deployed 100 more officers to the search, combing Durban. Private security companies and paramedics joined in, but by late afternoon there was no sign of the baby.
Police are offering a R250 000 reward for anyone with any information that could lead to the child’s recovery.
Call the nearest police station or Crime Stop: 0860010111