Baby sold by 20-year-old Nongoma mother, then dies soon after

THE body of a newborn boy who had reportedly been bought from its mother, will be exhumed from its grave to determine whether it had been poisoned.

This as police investigate charges of human trafficking and fraud after a Nkandla Hospital clerk and her alleged accomplice appeared in the Nkandla Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Zamile Masondo-Biyela (45) of eMahlayizeni Reserve and her co-accused, Zanele Zulu (20) from Nongoma, were remanded in custody until next Friday.

Masondo-Biyela, employed at the hospital, is accused of buying the baby from Zulu, after lying to her family and husband that she was pregnant.

The arrest has angered the Biyela family, as they accuse Masondo-Biyela of tarnishing their public image.

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Family spokesperson Silindile Biyela said they knew their sister-in-law was not pregnant but was faking it.

‘We tried to speak to her 31-year-old husband, who is blinded by love, but he would not listen to us.

‘As a family we have taken a resolution that when she gets back from jail, she must cleanse our family for this shameful act.

‘She teased our ancestors, which is why the little boy died.’

Biyela said that two weeks ago their in-laws informed them that Zamile was going to an Empangeni hospital to give birth.

‘She returned with a baby boy and asked me to take care of him as she was not feeling well.

‘She left home on Friday to the hospital where she was admitted; then the baby started getting sick and I informed her about the baby’s condition.

‘She asked me to take it to Nkandla Hospital, which I did on Saturday, but on Sunday the baby died.

‘Funeral arrangements were made and the child was buried on Wednesday,’ said Silindile.

‘Police arrived shortly after the funeral and accused Zamile of stealing the baby after the fake pregnancy.’

Police sources said investigators were planning to get a court order to exhume the deceased’s body, so that a postmortem can be conducted to identify the cause of death, as there are allegations the baby was poisoned.

King Cetshwayo Police Cluster spokesperson, Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose, said they were tipped off about the funeral taking place at the Mahlayizeni area but arrived after it was over.

‘On the same day we received information that the biological mother, Zanele Zulu was on her way from Nongoma to Nkandla.

‘She was intercepted and taken to the police station for questioning, where it was established that she had sold her baby to Masondo-Biyela,’ said Mdlalose.

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