Limpopo Police Commissioner condemn abandonment of toddlers
Limpopo Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola has expressed shock and outrage over two incidents this weekend where small children were found abandoned and neglected by their mothers.
At Mooihoek, Motetema, a 21 year old woman was arrested for child neglect after the mother allegedly locked up her two children aged 2 and 3 inside the house and went to a nearby tavern to party. The incident happened on Saturday night. The woman, Patricia Maripane, appeared in the Motetema Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and she was granted R500 bail. The case was postponed to 14 January 2015 for further investigations. The children have since been removed to a place of safety by social services.
In another incident at Mecklenburg, Motloulela village, the police together with social services, on Wednesday received a complaint of two children found abounded inside a house crying and with no food. The two rescued children, aged 4 and 2 it seems they were apparently left alone for a period of time. The whereabouts of the mother nor relatives are not known at this stage. The two will be accommodated at a place a safety pending further police investigations.
Masemola has expressed his deep distress and disappointment with these incidents happening just day after the launch of the 16 Days of Activism of no violence against women and children. He, however, thanked members of the community who alerted the police to the plight of the children and asked members of the public to remain vigilant during the holiday period when children are not in school and might be left to fight their own struggles.
“Any abuse and neglect of children will not be tolerated. Combating crime and the scourge of women and children abuse remains the government’s priority and anyone who crosses that line will face the full of the law,” he said.
For more information please contact:
Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi
Cell: 082 373 2408
