A traumatic event played out in the Esdakeni informal settlement, north-west of Durban, this weekend when a woman was severely assaulted, allegedly by community members, until she revealed where she had buried her baby in secrecy.

It is alleged that the 26-year-old woman took pills earlier this month, and gave birth on Friday. She claimed that the baby was stillborn and that she went to bury the baby in a shallow grave at the local gravesite.

When the community noticed she was behaving strangely, they allegedly assaulted the woman and forced her to tell them where her baby was.

The woman was arrested last Sunday and charged with concealing her birth.

uMshwathi Municipality Ward 2 councillor Skhumbuzo Nxumalo condemns the assault of the woman and her own actions.

“This incident has left us in shock. The relevant stakeholders need to get to the bottom of this issue. It might happen that this woman is going through issues that she can’t speak of.

“We want to urge women that if they are facing problems that affect their relationships, they must speak out so that they get assistance,” adds Nxumalo.

He says that if women are not sure who to contact when they need help, they should contact the local leadership in their ward.

“We condemn her actions. We also want to urge men to be responsible. The community needs to calm down, the relevant stakeholders are dealing with this situation,” says Nxumalo.

uMshwathi Mayor Mandla Zondi also condemns the community’s attack on the woman. “They need to follow protocol. The government has introduced measures that women can follow when they are not ready to have children,” he adds.

KZN Department of Social Development spokesperson Mhlabunzima Memela says he is disappointed that mothers would kill their babies.

“We believe that there’s no one in this country who doesn’t know how imperative children’s rights are. This is a major setback for the work that we do in the department. Attacking the mother without knowing the reasons for her actions is also against the law, even though her reasons wouldn’t be substantial as the department has a lot of programmes to assist those who are not ready to become parents.

“We believe that if the communities unite, we will fight the scourge of babies being abandoned,” Memela adds.

He says that when a woman falls pregnant, she has the chance to terminate her pregnancy as long as the medical period allows her to do so.

“If they have passed that period, they have a right to interact with the nurses in the hospital or clinics,” says Memela.

“The nurses will then link this person with social workers before and after birth. The social workers will guide and advise the mother about the options that are available for a child to be taken care of.

“One of these things is to ensure that the child is given to a family or mother who will be able to take care of the baby.”

KZN police spokesperson Sergeant Sifiso Gwala urges women to seek help rather than choosing to kill their babies.

“Child abandonment is an offence. They need to contact social workers or even go to their nearest police stations. A concealment of birth case was opened for investigation,” he says and adds the woman appeared in the New Hanover Court yesterday.

He did not provide a court update.