LIMPOPO – The MEC for Social Development, Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana says while she is elated that a baby, who was dumped in a pit toilet, is still alive due to heroic rescue efforts, she is devastated by the news.
According to the spokesperson for the department, Mantshimuli Kanakana, it is alleged that the 19-year-old mother gave birth to a child in Shongoane in the Lephalale Municipality and dumped her in a pit toilet.
“The matter was reported to the police by a family member who heard the baby crying in the toilet and the mother was identified and arrested immediately.
Mokaba-Phukwana, together with the local Mayor of Lephalale, payed a visit to the Witpoort Hospital this morning, where the child is receiving medical treatment.
The MEC has once again warned perpetrators of these criminal acts to refrain from such evil acts and has called on law enforcers to swiftly affect arrests so that they face the full might of the law.
Raeesa Sempe is a Caxton Award-winning Digital Editor with nine years’ experience in the industry. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and started her journey as a community journalist for the Polokwane Review in 2015. She then became the online journalist for the Review in 2016 where she excelled in solidifying the Review’s digital footprint through Facebook lives, content creation and marketing campaigns. Raeesa then moved on to become the News Editor of the Bonus Review in 2019 and scooped up the Editorial Employee of the Year award in the same year. She is the current Digital Editor of the Polokwane Review-Observer, a position she takes pride in. Raeesa is married with one child and enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music and baking – when she has the time. “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon." – Tom Stoppard
