Sne Masuku

Sne Masuku

A Durban cleaner who was arrested after she was caught with a placenta will only know next week whether she would be granted bail.

The cleaner, Hloniphile Sokhela, who was initially thought to be a nurse at the Parklands Hospital, appeared in the Durban magistrate's court yesterday.

She was remanded in custody after her case was postponed to October 16 for bail application and to enable her seek legal aid.

She wore a cap and wrapped a scarf over her head to hide herself from the public view.

Throughout the proceedings, Sokhela kept her head down as if she was scared to look the magistrate in the eye or be identified by the packed public gallery.

Police yesterday confirmed that Sokhela was not a nurse but a cleaner at Durban's private Parklands Hospital in the Overport area.

She was arrested on Sunday at the hospital. When police later searched her home they found what they thought were body parts in a bottle inside her fridge.

At the time of her arrest police said they were convinced the body parts were to be used for muti.

They also feared that she could be a member of a syndicate operating in the province.

Police have since established that what they found with Sokhela when they arrested her were not body parts and a baby's umbilical cord as earlier reported but a placenta.