MUM LOCKS IN KIDS, VISITS MAKHWAPHENI

NHLANGANO – A young mother has angered many after she allegedly abandoned her children for over 18 hours so that she could have a good time with another man.

The inexcusable act of selfishness unfolded on Wednesday night at Mashobeni, in the outskirts of Gege.
The 27-year-old woman, whose name has been withheld to protect the identities of her children, had been living with her three children, a daughter aged seven and twins aged three, at her in-laws’, while her husband resides in South Africa for work purposes.

Everyone, including the woman was happy when her husband recently took a few days off to be with his family.
But as soon as he left the homestead for his workplace in South Africa, the woman allegedly put all her three children in a house, locked the door and went off to see her boyfriend in the same area.

Her nocturnal shenanigans were reportedly uncovered when family members were jolted from their sleep by anxious shouts and sounds of the children wailing, at around 6am on the following day.

Apparently, the children were frightened when they woke up to find they had been left in the house on their own. After searching for their mother to no success, they tried to open the door but found it locked. The terrified children began crying.

At first, family members ignored the cries and shouts, thinking that the children’s mother had just gone out to do certain errands and would be back soon.
However, after two hours elapsed with the children still crying, the minors’ grandfather went out to investigate. He was shocked when he saw the three children’s tear-stained faces as he peeped through the window. At that moment, he could read fear both in their faces and the eyes.

The elderly man tried to open the door to the house but it was locked, and the children also had no idea where their mother may have left the keys.
The children had been left on their own for the whole night.

He found it difficult to understand how the woman could just abandon her children like that. The house had to be broken into in order to rescue the children. A swift call was made to the police at around 8pm and an investigation was immediately launched. The woman was later traced to another homestead in the area, where she was found still tucked in bed at around 2pm, while her boyfriend was away.

Embarrassment

The woman was left tongue-tied with embarrassment when the detectives introduced themselves.
An elderly woman, who was found at the homestead was left bewildered when she learnt that the visitor was another man’s wife.
She told equally stunned police officers that she had been to her son’s house earlier on in the morning to greet someone she thought would soon be joining the family as a new member.
“I only saw a prospective daughter in-law and did not even have the slightest inkling she was another man’s wife,” reportedly said the elderly woman, obviously taken aback by the sudden twist of events.
The officers later led the shaken young woman to a police van before driving off with her to the Gege Police Station, where she was detained and subsequently charged under the Children’s Welfare and Protection Act. She later appeared before acting Nhlangano Magistrate Jabulani Maphalala for her initial remand hearing. Her matter is still pending in court.
Meanwhile, the woman’s in-laws are still trying to come to terms with her decision to abandon her children, because they were apparently getting in the way of her pleasure. The family is taking care of the abandoned children while the woman’s matter is being adressed in court.
If convicted, the woman risks spending two years behind bars or a maximum fine of E5 000, which could go along with an order to do community service. The court is also expected to make a pronouncement on the future of the children after their situation has been assessed by social welfare officers.
There has been many tragic incidents where children have died after being left unattended by parents.
The most glaring case was that of three children from Mpolonjeni in Siteki, who died after the house they were sleeping in caught fire.
Their mother left them to attend a funeral.

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