×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Mom claims granny kidnapped toddler

A Cape Town mother has opened a case of kidnapping against her boyfriend’s mother who refuses to return their 18-month-old son.

Their names cannot be published to protect the child’s identity.

The young mother said she and her boyfriend were visited by his mother in June and they allowed her to take the boy back to East London for a two-week holiday.

“After the two weeks was up‚ I phoned her and she said she was not going to return my son.

“After several attempts to get her to bring him home‚ we decided to go to East London to fetch him‚” she said.

The woman said when they arrived in East London on July 3‚ they learnt that the child’s grandmother had obtained a protection order against her son‚ interdicting him from access to the boy.

“When we arrived she called people from social services and I explained to them that I was the child’s biological mother and that the protection order was against my boyfriend and not me‚” she said.

She then claimed that the child was released into their custody but when they were about to board a bus back to Cape Town‚ police arrived and the child was taken away because the protection order had been extended to include her.

The desperate mother said her boyfriend’s mother had accused them of being homeless‚ unemployed‚ drug addicts and that they were abusing their son.

“She made up lies about us. I even have an affidavit from our landlord saying that we live in his house‚” she said.

“We have had drug tests to prove that we do not do drugs and we have a letter from his creche and his doctor to confirm that he has not been abused or neglected‚” the young woman said.

The Daily Dispatch is in possession of a letter by a Dr RJ Rinkwest‚ who said he had seen the child on seven occasions.

“He [child] has on all the occasions been well cared for by the parents and never did I get the impression that he had been neglected at all.”

The mother has since opened a case of kidnapping at Cambridge police station in East London.

Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi confirmed the case and said it was still under investigation.

The grandmother‚ who lives in Berea‚ told the Dispatch she would not return the child.

“They are drug addicts and I have court interdicts against them. I also have temporary custody from the children’s court.

“There is no kidnapping here and I will not discuss this with the Daily Dispatch‚” the grandmother said.

She refused to comment further on the matter and referred all questions to her lawyer Zelda Burmeister‚ who also refused to comment when contacted.