Police foolishly hunt for non-existent baby — perjury charge laid

Baby feet

Durban – Police in KwaZulu-Natal have urged community members to stop filing false complaints, particularly those involving violence against women and children, following the arrest of a woman who fabricated a baby kidnapping.

Colonel Robert Netshiunda, spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal Police, confirmed that a 26-year-old woman was charged with perjury after she falsely reported that her three-month-old baby had been abducted by three men in the KwaMagwaza area of Melmoth on 13 September.

Netshiunda said that a multi-agency search team was deployed to locate the child, only for the investigation to reveal that the woman had never given birth. She had allegedly misled her boyfriend and his family into believing she was pregnant, while telling her own family that she suffered a miscarriage.

The woman was arrested and is set to appear in the Melmoth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 16 September.

This incident marks the second perjury charge against a woman in KwaZulu-Natal this month. Earlier, a 21-year-old woman was charged for falsely claiming she had been raped by her uncle. The uncle, who is already in custody, is accused of sexually assaulting his 15-year-old niece in Blaaubosch, Madadeni.

“Reporting a false case is a criminal offence,” said Colonel Netshiunda.

“Those who waste police resources by opening imaginary cases will face the full force of the law. Time spent investigating false reports could otherwise be used to assist real victims of crime.”

Police continue to appeal to the public to act responsibly when reporting crimes, particularly those involving vulnerable groups such as women and children.

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