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'cops refused to help baby'

DESPERATE: Nombuso Ngubo with the eight-month-old baby boy she claims was dumped on her doorstep by his mother. Pic. Mhlaba Memela. 14/05/08. © Sowetan.
DESPERATE: Nombuso Ngubo with the eight-month-old baby boy she claims was dumped on her doorstep by his mother. Pic. Mhlaba Memela. 14/05/08. © Sowetan.

Mhlaba Memela

Mhlaba Memela

A KwaMashu woman is angry after she was allegedly beaten up by police at the local station.

She had approached the police to help her with an eight-month-old baby boy who was dumped on her doorstep by his mother.

Nombuso Ngubo, 21, said she asked the police to take the child to a place of safety but they refused.

"The child was dumped on me a fortnight ago after his mother disappeared," Ngubo said.

"The child's mother had a relationship with my brother but he is not aware that she had a child."

Ngubo said she first went to the social workers at the local Thembalihle centre to ask for help in locating the child's mother.

The social workers said she should go to the police and gave her a letter.

"The centre gave me food and some clothes for the child," she said.

"In the letter a social worker asked the police to help me find the child's missing mother. But at the station I was sent from pillar to post.

"The police refused to help me, saying it was not their duty to take care of the child or to look for his mother.

"I thought it was a good move to get the relevant people to help me, including police, as I am unemployed. I heard from locals that the mother was somewhere in Durban's Point area working as a prostitute.

"The police in Point sent me back to KwaMashu police."

She said after two efforts failed, she went back to KwaMashu police station on Tuesday.

"I was handcuffed when I told them I was going to leave the child with them because they were not interested in helping me. I was grabbed by two police officers, one male and one female.

"The woman slapped me and the man stepped on my toes with his heavy boots."

Ngubo said she named the child Lungani following advise from social workers.

She said her only wish is to ensure that the child is in a place of safety.

"He has been very sick in the past few days and I am worried.

"The child has nothing - no birth certificate, clinic cards or nappies," she said.

She added that the child was still in her care while waiting for police to help get him to a place of safety.

Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said the allegation that police refused to help Ngubo and also assaulted her would be investigated.

"But police stations are not dumping grounds, and if she wanted to do that she would have been arrested."

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