Newborn baby girl found dead in rubbish dump in CBD
According to Ditshego and paramedics on scene, the baby is a girl.
Community members, mostly women, gathered on the corner of Maxwell and Schoeman streets in Kempton Park central business district on Thursday morning where the body of a baby girl was found.
The body of the newborn girl was discovered among refuse bags piled up on the corner.
According to Sgt Dipuo Ditshego, deputy spokesperson of Kempton Park SAPS, the baby was discovered by a community member who was walking up Maxwell Street.
“A man told us he was on his way to work when something caught his eye in the pile of rubbish. As he took a second look, he discovered it was a baby,” said Ditshego, who was evidently saddened by the incident.
“It will be registered as concealment of birth. It truly is sad that women continue to commit such crimes. We urge women to refrain from such cruel and traumatic acts.”
Sadness filled the eyes of the women around the scene who all told Express they were traumatised and heartbroken by the scene.
All the women felt that a safe house was a definite need in Kempton Park.
This was echoed by Sharon Rushton through her post on Life Link Pregnancy Crisis Centre’s Facebook page. Rushton is the director and founder of the Kempton Park-based centre.
“It’s a sad day when a baby is discarded like rubbish in the very street where our offices are.
“It’s sad that we’ve struggled for so long to get a facility up and running and can’t because we can’t get affordable, suitable premises in the area where women so desperately need our services. It’s sad that women feel the need to do this.
“It’s sad that projects geared to saving animals get more funding than a project wanting to save babies.
“But this is reality. And this is the truth of what is happening out there. Stop hiding your head in the sand or turning a blind eye. We need to act now,” Rushton said.
