A 32 year-old woman has been charged for murder, after she allegedly choked her newborn son to death and hid him under a mattress. The woman was arrested over the weekend and will appear in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrates Court tomorrow. The Western Cape Department of Social Development has confirmed that social workers from the Mitchells Plain local office have intervened to protect the other four children the woman has.

“The Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) will assist the police in their investigation of a neonaticide (baby murdered within 28 days of life) in Mitchells Plain,” said Sihle Ngobese, the spokesperson for MEC Albert Fritz.

“We condemn this brutal murder and the alleged circumstances of this incident in the strongest terms possible. That the alleged murderer is allegedly the mother of the baby is most outrageous.”

Last month, the body of a newborn baby was found in a plastic bag and left on the streets in Goodwood. The bag concealed the bloodied and crushed body dumped onto the street by a woman who had just given birth to the baby.

Study findings released in 2016 by the Medical Research Council (MRC) through their own analysis of data, found that South Africa essentially has a neonaticide rate of 19 per 100 000 live births.

“We continue to appeal to expectant mothers and fathers, and parents of newborn children, to approach our social workers for assistance and family planning interventions. This service is available to anyone who may be experiencing emotional or physical difficulty in raising their child.”

“Ensuring the safety and care of children requires a whole-of-society approach. Child protection is everybody’s responsibility. If you see something, say something.”

Residents must report any abandoned, abused, neglected or missing children to the police or to the DSD Hotline on 0800 220 250. VOC