Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) tracked down and arrested a 21-year-old woman who yesterday allegedly kidnapped a two-week-old baby in Durban to avoid being dumped by her boyfriend.

The Witness reports that the baby, Owami Lonathando Sindani, was found safe by reaction officers this morning in the Westville area, near the Pavilion Shopping Centre.

When interviewed by reaction officers, the woman confirmed that she had kidnapped the child after she suffered a miscarriage on April 24.

“She then met Bongiwe Sindane at a local clinic and hatched a plan to kidnap her baby so her boyfriend would not dump her. After the kidnapping, she visited her boyfriend in Chesterville and convinced him that it was his child.”

Prem Balram, spokesperson for Rusa, says they received a call from Sidane last night.

Reaction officers circulated information about the missing child and received 34 leads in 11 hours, leading to the arrest and recovery of the baby.

“Officers followed up on tip-offs from the public in Pietermaritzburg, Limpopo, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Reports of women returning home with babies and behaving suspiciously were received throughout the night,” he says.

Balram says reaction officers narrowed down the search area to Chesterville in KZN.

“Believing that the female suspect was in possession of the kidnapped baby and planning to flee KZN, reaction officers blocked off all entry and exits and kept observation while the Rusa helicopter searched the area for a vague location provided.”

Balram says that a woman was spotted behaving suspiciously with a newborn baby, and when officers stopped her, the baby in her possession was Owami.

“The woman was placed under arrest and was removed from the area after a mob threatened to kill her. She was detained at FCS SAPS Cato Manor and positively identified by the mother as the woman who had kidnapped her baby,” he says.

Balram says the child was given water, but the woman had not bought milk to feed the child.

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