(Video) Parents did not know what else to do with baby’s body
A docket was opened and police have to wait for a decision by the Department of Justice on whether the parents must be arrested or not
In a small shack in the heart of Old Coronation police dug up the body of an unborn baby.
As community members watched from a distance a dog from SAPS K-9 unit sniffed out the shallow grave in the backyard of the shack.
The dog, Zeus, had no trouble finding the little grave on August 21.
W/o Marius Etsebeth dug up the tiny body while the father, Mr Justice Mathebula watched motionlessly.
Mathebula told WITBANK NEWS that the baby was born on August 4.
“We did not know what else to do because the baby was stillborn. I dug the grave, wrapped the baby in a plastic bag and buried it,” he said.
Police were alerted about the burial when a neighbour complained.
The baby’s parents were not arrested.
A docket was opened and police have to wait for a decision by the Department of Justice on whether the parents must be arrested or not.
In March 2017, Voice of the Unborn Baby, a non-profit company, launched a court case, asking the court to declare that certain provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act and the regulations relating to the management of human remains are unconstitutional.
The effect of the requested relief, if given by the court, will be that parents who lose a child before 26 weeks in the womb will be able to receive the bodily remains of their miscarried baby for burial if they so choose.
According to current South African law, an unborn child that is miscarried before 26 weeks of gestation or perished in a termination of pregnancy procedure, cannot be buried or cremated.
These are regarded as medical waste and accordingly disposed of.
For 15 years Sonja Smit, founder of Voice of the Unborn Baby, has been fighting to change legislation to give unborn babies a voice.
Her voice was finally heard in the high court last year November after she summoned both the ministers of health and home affairs to appear in court.
“We are currently waiting for an outcome,” Smit said in a telephonic interview with WITBANK NEWS.
Mr Lebo Mofokeng, the municipal spokesperson said no human remains are allowed to be buried anywhere without the permission of the municipality.
“A stillborn is also regarded as a body,” Mofokeng said.
Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, provincial police spokesperson indicated that it’s better to ask than to do something you will regret tomorrow.
“The action of the family is punishable by law, however, we will allow the process of the law to take its course hence we will take all relevant statements and present the docket before the public prosecutor for a decision. A case of concealment of death is underway,” Brig Hlathi said.
