‘We did not dump our baby, we placed him in a grave’
A number of Greenside and Extension 44 residents claim non-South African citizens have been burying the bodies of babies in the mentioned areas.
POLOKWANE -Section 113 of the General Law Amendment Act, 1935, amended by the Judicial Matters Amendment Act 66, of 2008, creates the offence of concealing the birth of a child. This is what people can be charged with when hiding the birth or death of an infant, according to Westenburg Police Spokesperson, Const Napure Manamela.
“Illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe give birth to their children in South Africa. Because they are not registered, they do not register their children when they are born or when they die,” local resident Joshua Matsimela stated.
Nanna Alanthwaite and her boyfriend Hamutyinei Hlabangana state they have been victimised by residents of Extension 44 threatening to burn their house and kill them after they lost their son a few months ago.
“My son was stillborn and because we are in the country illegally, trying to make a living because our birthplace is a mess, we could not report the death. We gave him a proper burial and for this people want to kill us,” Hamutyinei said.
Nanna said she is not the first mother in the area to lose her child nor is she the first to have to lay a child to rest in a place where there is no grave site to visit.
She continued, saying people must try and understand if her or her husband are arrested for concealing the birth/death of a child, they will not be able to take care of their other child. “We did not dump our baby, we placed him in a grave,” she explained.
“The law states that any person who, without a lawful burial order, disposes of the body of a new-born child with intent to conceal the fact of its birth, whether the child died before, during or after the birth, shall be guilty of an offence and liable of conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years,” Manamela said.
“Unfortunately, the law states that people being in the country illegally will be prosecuted and the law also states that people concealing a birth will be charged so we appeal to residents to ensure they abide by the law,” she continued.
She urged residents to report any illegal activities to the police station in their area.
