After three days of hoping and pleading with her then nine-day-old baby’s kidnapper to have him returned, baby Mogamat Imaad Shamar is safe in his mommy’s arms.

The alleged kidnapping of the newborn boy made headlines after he was abducted by a lady posing as support staff for an NGO working with mothers of newborn babies, offering counselling, care packages, and workshops. The 37-year-old, according to Faith and Hope Missing Persons Unit founder Veranique “Benji” Williams, groomed the mother while she was pregnant and befriended her.

“When the mommy trusted the alleged kidnapper, who took her out for lunch thrice prior to their mall meeting, she made her move. I believe this mom was groomed.”

The lady, who identified herself only as Chivon, has since been arrested after it came to light that the baby was in fact in her possession, in Honolulu Street, Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain.

Benji revealed what led to the woman’s arrest: “On Monday evening I received a message from an unknown person who asked me if I knew how the alleged kidnapper looked. I said no… I wanted to know why. She then said she is suspicious about someone living in her road who wasn’t pregnant but had a baby.”

Benji said she asked the lady if she could meet her at her house for further questioning. The woman agreed.

“When I got there I asked her what makes her so sure that it is the woman who took the baby. She said a few months prior, the same lady approached her daughter and asked her for a sample of her urine, which was supposedly to be used for her child’s school project. The lady who tipped me off later learnt that not long after that, the alleged kidnapper went to the doctor with her ex’s mother and there paid for a pregnancy test.”

Benji said the woman also informed her that the alleged kidnapper came home on Saturday just after 2 in the afternoon.

“I put one and one together, because the baby was kidnapped just past 1 in Bellville and the timing matched. So I contacted Crime Intelligence and FCS. Because of my policing background, I knew what to do, and mobilised my team to monitor the house until the rest of the agencies came around. It was a carefully planned operation. Detective Captain Wesley Lombard was assigned to the case and called me and said they were nearby. We also noted that SAPS Task Force were monitoring the surroundings.”

Benji said the house was then entered and the lady questioned.

“She first denied it, insisting that she has the child’s clinic card, but was then told to come to the police station. The family was contacted.”

Benji said this case again reminded her of her vision to start a dedicated missing persons unit… and that they could work there at the station.

“At the moment we are funding everything out of our pockets. With a dedicated unit, we will have the resources and time to focus solely on missing persons cases. You know, on a daily basis we get calls of children that are missing… Since this weekend began,six children under 15 years old were reported missing.

“I believe with children 0–12 years old, you cannot hesitate. You have to go out immediately. That is a child — you need to go out and look immediately. With teenagers, we find there are a lot of runaways or they’re unhappy. Then there are seniors and adults — Alzheimer’s and dementia. A few weeks ago we found a 70-year-old sitting in a ditch at Swartklip. Then we get the adults who are missing because they’ve gone to a side piece, sugar mommy or daddy.”

Benji’s urgent message to parents is to be vigilant and report your missing child immediately — there is no waiting period. To children, she warned: be careful, don’t just trust anybody.

To the President and Minister of Social Development, she said: “Open your eyes and see what our children are going through. Look at this mother, like many mothers on the Cape Flats, in our communities — she accepted help because she maybe felt she needed to attend the workshops to empower herself as a mom. Make such things more available to younger mommies. This is a case that should be an eye-opener to many.”

Sandy Schuter-Flowers, who was also instrumental in the investigation, said she was with the family when she received a picture of the baby.

“I got a call from Detective Lombard, the baby was crying in the background. She already said: ‘That’s my baby crying.’ She knew. Then I said, ‘Guys, is this your son?’ after showing them a picture. The family started crying and screaming.

“We drove to the police station and there they were briefed: ‘Don’t need to shout — we don’t want to overwhelm the baby, we don’t want to scare the baby‘ but you can just imagine what happened when that blanket was opened… It was dad’s first time meeting his son. That man wailed. The mommy was sobbing uncontrollably. She knew, she even said my child had a shark vest on — lo and behold, the child had that vest on.

“Shakirah ‘Shakes Warrior’ also joined. Everyone worked together so beautifully. I wasn’t active on the scene as always, but I was there with the family and I can now understand why.”

Schuter-Flowers praised Captain Lombard for his dedication even while on leave. 

“Wesley Lombard is absolutely amazing at what he does. Twenty years ago he was passionate. Twenty years later, he’s even more passionate. He just gives you the confidence and restores your faith that there are good officers out there. I said thank you to him on Monday night. His response: ‘You know what — we thank God.’ This case cracked all of us.”

While speaking to the community, one of the alleged kidnapper’s friends opened up about how the woman struggled to conceive.

“She was recently married to a very good guy. I know that she loved him a lot and told him that she was pregnant — maybe that is why she did what she did. Still, it was wrong.”

When visiting the man’s house, his mom answered and confirmed that the woman was indeed married to her son but they have since separated.

“She told me she was pregnant while he was at sea. I accepted the news, just as I accepted her since the day they got married. I grew fond of her. But then she just stayed away — I don’t know why. She used to come in here regularly, but just stayed away.”

The man’s mom said she was shocked to learn that her ex-daughter-in-law was involved in what happened.

“I was shocked,” she commented before asking to be excused.

The woman is due to make her first court appearance this week. 

Anyone wanting to help Benji and her organisation with any donations to help with their cause can contact her on: 083 718 8851

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus 

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