A KwaZulu-Natal woman , 35, has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a newborn baby girl from her mother, 18.

Lieutenant-colonel Thulani Zwane said the teenage mother boarded a taxi near the Hlabisa Hospital‚ northern KwaZulu-Natal‚ on Friday after giving birth.

“It is alleged that a women in her 30s‚ who was sitting behind the mother‚ requested to carry the one-day-old baby girl. The mother agreed as she appeared to be sympathetic‚” said Zwane.

When they arrived at the Mtubatuba taxi rank‚ the older woman asked the mother to go and buy airtime for her from a nearby shop and promised to wait for her. “On her return from the shop‚ the mother realised that the woman and her newborn baby were nowhere to be found.”

The matter was reported to the local police station and with the help of the community, the woman was located with the baby. “The suspect was charged for kidnapping and will appear in the Mtubatuba magistrate’s court [soon]. The baby was taken to a health facility for a check-up.”

Two weeks ago‚ police arrested a 21-year-old woman on the KZN south coast who kidnapped a two-month-old baby.

The baby’s 28-year-old mother was approached by the woman wearing sleepwear at the Umzinto taxi rank‚ claiming she needed help as she was destitute and a victim of abuse. The mother took the woman to her home at an informal settlement. The woman allegedly feigned a headache and asked for painkillers.

The mom left the baby with the stranger to get pills from a neighbour. When she returned, she and the baby were gone.