A 16-year_old from Osindosweni outside Veralum in Durban, KwaZulu Natal, dumped her eight-month old baby with her baby daddy to go and party at a local tavern to celebrate the Kaizer Chiefs win over Orlando Pirates. According to the members of the local community forum, the lady dumped the baby to go on a drinking spree. It is still unclear how the baby daddy dumped the baby in nearby bushes and then followed the lady. "We received information that a baby was dumped in the nearby bushes close to the tavern in Osindisweni. This is the second time we've found a baby being dumped in our area. We are seeing a rise in the numbers of babies that are found dumped and mostly it is the youth who are doing this," said a Community Police Forum member who wished to be kept anonymous.

ABANDONING BABY TO PARTY

According to the member, the baby daddy took the baby and put the baby to sleep, dumped the baby in nearby bushes so that he could go.party with the baby mama at a local tavern. "The baby was lucky to found by a passerby who.had gone to pee. When he saw the baby wrapped in a blanket he thought the baby was dead and quickly inspected the the baby only to discover that the baby was still alive. He then decided to take the baby to his place. He then began searching for.the.parents with no success and alerted the local policing forum," the source says.

BABY MAMA EMERGES TO CLAIM CHILD

On Sunday morning when the local policing forum was about to begin the search for the baby mama,  she emerged out of nowhere and pleaded with them to give her the baby back. "While we were busy with the community policing forum, about to search and  take the baby to the.local police, the baby mama emerged to claim her child.Upon being interrogated the baby mama told the us that she had left the baby with the baby daddy. She claimed she left the baby and went to.partying where she saw the baby daddy but never asked him where the baby was. She said she thought the father had left the baby with relatives," said the source.When the babydaddy was contacted for comment he claimed to have been drunk and forgot the baby in the nearby bushes when he went to buy beer at the local tavern.KZN SAPS spokesperson Nqobile Gwala said there was no case opened as the baby was reunited with babymama.

SAFETY OF THE CHILD

Department of Social Development spokesperson Mhlaba Memela from KZN Department of Social Development said:"This a very horrible incident. We are grateful to the family that managed to save the child's life. It's God's mercy  that the child managed to survive after being dumped. The parents of the child should face a case of child neglect.  The fact that the mother had left the child with the father while going to party doesn't spare them from neglect," he said. Memela further said that cases of child neglect are very serious and people involved should be punished.  "The Department will also play its part by ensuring  to educate the young mother on how to take care of the child and expose her to other options to ensure child protection. However, we call on the law enforcement agencies to track down the father and ensure he faces arrest. The team of social workers will be assigned to roll out some interventions. But our interest is the safety of the child and we are going to ensure that the child is safe and provided for," he said.