Kept in a police cell without having committed any crime.
This was the lot of two toddlers who spent two nights in holding cells at the police station with their mother, who had been arrested on a charge of kidnapping with her husband.
The couple, who live in Zwelihle, say their nightmarish experience began on Tuesday 30 April when they went to the home of a man who owed them a large amount of money.
“His wife said he had gone to Johannesburg and she was on her way to Cape Town after he hadn’t paid the rent on their Zwelihle house,” explained the husband, who asked to be identified only as Christian.
“My wife said she and her child should go with us because we saw she had no bed or blankets. She accepted, and we went to our house where my wife cooked noodles for all of us. I even bought airtime when she said her husband needed it.”
After Christian returned from an errand his friend informed him the police were looking for him, for he was accused of kidnapping. He, his wife and two children, aged one and two, and the woman all went along to the police station.
According to Christian when the police asked her if she had been forced into the car with them, the woman said no. He said a short while after they were told to wait outside, they were called back in and informed they were under arrest.
“I asked if they can detain me and let my wife and children go because the eldest is sick. They then left the children with me while they took my wife to our house. My heart was bleeding, especially for my two-year old who was sick and had a fever.”
Christian’s wife, Catherine, said she was extremely afraid when three police vehicles took her to her house and searched it, reportedly for weapons. She claimed when she enquired whether she could take blankets for her children she was told “no”. Their pleas for a doctor to see their eldest daughter, said the couple, also fell on deaf ears until the next night when an ambulance was called after her condition had deteriorated.
“The doctor wanted to admit her but the officials who escorted us said no,” said Catherine. “We stayed until she was stabilised and treated. It was traumatising for me as a mother to see my child being taken back to conditions making her sick.”
She added a social worker had visited them, but left the children with her after she informed the person she didn’t have anyone who could take care of her daughters.
“Why didn’t they take my children to a place where they could be warm and safe? The cells were very cold and dirty. Is it because I am a foreigner?”
Catherine’s sister managed to bring diapers for the kids but was unable to take them into her care as she had to work.
The couple said they had the feeling the next day that authorities were trying to hide the fact that the children were kept in the cells when they were due to appear in court. “One policewoman told me I am a wicked woman because I had my children with me in the cells, even though it was not my choice,” said Catherine.
The couple said at the courts all hell broke loose with everyone demanding to know why the children were kept in the cells with their mother.
“Everyone was in shock,” Catherine recalled. “They said it was totally wrong to let the kids stay in a cell for two days. The magistrate said we should be released. My heart was so relieved because finally someone was recognising me and was concerned about us and my child’s health.”
Gerda Snyman of JL van Niekerk Attorneys said she was absolutely horrified when she discovered the children had spent two nights in the police holding cells with their mother.
“This should never have been allowed to happen,” she said. “The case was not even placed on the court roll. I will be assisting the mother with lodging civil claims.”
Catherine now lives in fear that the whole episode could land her in trouble with immigration authorities, as she was in the process of applying for a permit to live in South Africa.
Captain Fadila September, spokesperson for Hermanus police, said all necessary procedures were followed and the department of social development was also called in to assist in the matter.
“If the complainant is not satisfied, she is encouraged to make an appointment with the management of Hermanus police to raise her concerns or register a formal complaint with them or the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), so these allegations can be investigated.”
She added a case of kidnapping was registered and under investigation.
Eric Ntabazalila, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in the Western Cape, confirmed that the case was not placed on the court roll.
He stated: “We did not enroll the matter as there was insufficient evidence linking her to the crime and requested for her to be released. We were shocked to learn that she was kept in the police cells. We are trying to establish what happened.”
