A KwaZulu-Natal mother has been reunited with her baby, who was allegedly stolen from her just a day after he was born, the police said on Thursday.

The child was found in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, on Wednesday as the woman who had allegedly taken him was trying to forge a new identity for him.

“It was reported that the suspect was at Ermelo in Mpumalanga with the kidnapped baby. The Jozini and Ermelo family violence, child protection and sexual offences [FCS] unit were immediately contacted and the information was shared with them,” police spokesperson Capt Nqobile Gwala said.

“The suspect was arrested while at a clinic in Ermelo to obtain a vaccination card for the baby. She was arrested by the Ermelo FCS unit and the kidnapped baby was also found. The baby has been reunited with the mother.”

The suspect is set to appear in the Ubombo magistrate’s court on Friday.

Gwala said it was alleged that the woman had managed to steal the newborn infant after she had befriended the child's mother.

“It is alleged that on August 10 the mother had just been discharged from hospital after giving birth to a baby boy the day before when she met with the unknown female, who offered to carry the child for her.

“They boarded a bus from the hospital and when they got off at Mamlambo bus station, the woman disappeared with the baby while the mother was eating her meal. When she made enquiries in the vicinity, she was told that a silver-grey motor vehicle picked up the woman with the baby and drove away.”

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