Police in the Erongo Region have arrested a 24-year-old mother who reportedly abandoned her toddler in the dunes in the Narraville area in Walvis Bay on Saturday morning.

The 1-year-old child was discovered about 200 metres from the main road between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, by a passerby at around 07h10.

She was found wrapped well in a blanket and dressed in warm clothes along with some disposable nappies.

Namibian Police Force spokesperson in the Erongo Region, Chief Inspector Ileni Shapumba said the woman was arrested later that day when she was found selling kapana (meat) at a shebeen in Kuisebmund.

She was charged under the Child Care and Protection Act No 3 of 2015 and is set to appear in the Walvis Bay Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The child, who was found with no sign of physical injury, was taken to a safe place and social workers from the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare were informed.

Shapumba expressed concern over the incident.

‘This kind of conduct can
not be condoned. It is important to indicate that children have rights to know and be cared for by their parents and we as parents, have that constitutional obligation,’ he stressed.

Investigations in the matter are ongoing.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency