FEAR GRIPS FAMILY AS STRANGERS OFFER MUM E60 000 FOR BABY

BETHANY– Have ritual killings, which are the talk of the town these days in the country, reached another level?

This is one of the possible questions which could cross one’s mind after learning that two unknown men  approached a woman, who has a six-month-old daughter and allegedly offered her a sum of E60 000 for the baby. The shocking incident, which left *Nelisa and her family living in fear for their lives, especially that of their daughter, allegedly took place last Thursday at around 1pm.

Nelisa said as usual, the baby’s father left them by themselves (her and the baby) when he went to work in the morning and she began doing house chores as per the routine and cleaned the yard, among other things.

She said while she was preparing to take a rest towards 1pm, she saw an unknown man passing by the homestead. However, Nelisa said even though she had never seen the man before, she did not suspect anything.

A few minutes later, while she was inside the house feeding her baby, Nelisa said she heard a man shouting ‘sikhulekile ekhaya’ (a siSwati phrase used to alert occupants of a homestead that there was a visitor) by the gate and she came out of the house to attend to the person.

Surprisingly, Nelisa said she discovered that it was the same man who passed by her home earlier and he was with an accomplice. She said both men were estimated to be in their late 30s or early 40s and one of them was dark and wearing a cap while the other had short hair and was light in complexion. She said the dark man was carrying a bag with his right hand.

As she attended to them, Nelisa, who said she was carrying her daughter, alleged that one of them asked her what the family name was to which she responded that it was *Mazibuko.
Thereafter, Nelisa alleged that the man asked her where the father of the child was and she told them that he was not around as he left for work in the morning.

“They became quiet for a while and the one carrying the bag asked me to sell them my child for E60 000.
“Out of shock, I screamed out loud and yelled for help while I jumped away from them.” She said at that very same moment, her instincts told her that there was something amiss with the men.  She said while thinking about her next move, the man who passed by her home earlier on, allegedly put his hand in the pocket and ordered her not to make noise.

“With my child in my hands, my adrenaline reaction saw me bolt away from the men towards a relative’s home, which is about a stone’s throw. There was not even time to ask what they wanted to do with my child.”

She alleged that one of the men tried to pursue her but upon seeing that she was running fast, he abandoned the chase and joined his accomplice who was walking the opposite direction. Afterwards, when we came back with other community members, they were told that people who matched the descriptions were seen on the other side of Lusushwana River, which is about a kilometre from Nelisa’s homestead.

She said the men allegedly ran through the fields and crossed the river to avoid being seen by community members on the road. Later on, Nelisa said the matter was reported to the police.

Meanwhile, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba said the incident was reported and the police were investigating it.
*Not real names

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