Kingsway mom desperate to find kidnapped baby

A 30-year-old woman from Kingsway is appealing to the public to assist in locating her four-month-old daughter, Desire, who was allegedly kidnapped on September 4 by two women who pretended to be auxiliary nurses.

According to the Zimbabwean national, Brilliant Museba, the women approached her during the first week of September with a job offer to take care of a two-year-old boy during the day.

The woman lives on the same property as a neighbour, Idet Lorenzo, and she apparently referred the pair to Museba.

Given she is a single mother and unemployed, Museba said she accepted the job and began to look after the two-year-old child in her rented room.

She explained that her boyfriend, an illegal miner, disappeared in September last year while she was pregnant with Desire.

“When they came to fetch the little boy, they would often play with my baby and ask if we could pray so that God could intervene in my situation. I started to befriend them because I saw nothing sinister about our relationship.”

On September 3, the women told Museba that since she was struggling financially she could get help from Far East Rand Hospital in terms of food parcels, nappies and clothes for her baby.

The women arrived at 06:00 the next morning to fetch her and told her to pack a few baby clothes and the child’s clinic card.

SMS
“Before boarding a taxi to Far East Rand Hospital, they told me I should no longer go with them to the hospital and that they would take the child.

“They gave me money for a taxi to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and assured me they would meet me there.

“They told me that I’ll receive an SMS with a voucher of R400 to get the baby items. They took out my sim card and inserted their sim card into my phone.”

Museba added that they also deleted a photo of the two-year-old boy she had on her phone.

When she arrived at Charlotte Maxeke, Museba phoned the women and they told her to phone them again in four hours because the doctors were still assessing the child.

“I called again after three hours, but to my surprise, they were no longer answering their phones. I patiently waited another hour and that’s when I decided to return home. I could feel that something was not right.”

The distraught mother, who broke down during the interview, said on her way back in the taxi at around 17:00, she received an SMS from them.

The message, seen by the Benoni City Times, is written in Shona and states that Museba will not see her child again “because she took their sister’s husband”.

The message further states that they are taking the child to her (the sister’s) family in Zimbabwe.

According to Lorenzo, she was shocked when she saw Museba arriving home with the police at around 21:00, crying hysterically.

“I am shattered. I regret referring those two tricksters to my neighbour. The only reason I suggested her was because I was trying to help, because I knew she needed the money,” said Lorenzo.

She added that she and other residents were also scammed out of money by the two women promising them jobs where they apparently worked.

Describing the two women, Museba said they were always wearing blue nurses’ uniforms.

One of them is light in complexion and of medium build. She wore a brown wig and the other one had a soft dreadlock hairstyle.

Police investigate
District communications officer Captain Neldah Sekgobela said a docket of kidnapping is being investigated by Benoni Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS).

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the women can contact the investigating officer, Detective

Constable Ndanduleni, on 082 822 7985 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

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