News24 | ‘I just want my baby back’ - Cape Town mom pleads for safe return of abducted 11-day-old boy

• An 11-day-old baby boy from Strandfontein, Cape Town, has still not been found.
• He was abducted at a mall in Bellville after his mother said she fell ill and needed to use the bathroom.
• The woman she was with at the mall claimed to be from an organisation assisting mothers with newborn babies.

“He’s just a baby, he needs me. Please bring him back safe and sound.”

This is the desperate plea of a Strandfontein Village, Cape Town, mother after her 11-day-old baby boy was abducted inside a mall at the weekend.

Imaan Sharmar, 25, last held her baby on Saturday, 28 June, at the Middestad Mall in Bellville, where she and a “lady” enjoyed a meal together before Sharmar said she was set to attend a workshop with the woman on how to navigate motherhood.

Sharmar told News24 that she first met the woman in May this year after she unexpectedly showed up at the family home.

READ | Ransom payment of over R100 000 led to rescue of abducted Bloemfontein pupil

The woman identified herself as “Chivon” and claimed she was from The Zoe Project in Retreat.

The Zoe Project is a well-established NGO that has been providing maternal health care programmes for vulnerable women, girls and babies for about 25 years.

According to Sharmar, the woman first arrived in a nurse’s uniform at her family home in Strandfontein, armed with documentation about her (Sharmar).

Sharmar said:

She said not once did she feel uncomfortable with the woman’s questions as she thought she had good intentions.

“I have seen people from The Zoe Project at the Lentegeur Hospital in Mitchells Plain, and so I thought I could trust her. She asked me if I had a birthing plan and told me about how she will be assisting me with the birth and providing me and the baby with care packs,” Sharmar said.

Sharmar said she was told that she would be registered for a postnatal and antenatal programme to join classes with other new mothers.

“It provides counselling and classes that we would be attending, like doing arts and crafts, showing us how to handle the baby. It’s not the first time that I have given birth, so I am aware of how to care for a newborn baby.

“I was very keen on joining because I’m going to be on maternity leave, so it would be like an extra hobby for me to do,” said Sharmar.

“Then she left. I never heard or saw her again until Saturday when my son was taken from me,” a sobbing Sharmar said.

READ | Kidnapped Gqeberha woman dropped off by abductors, reunited with family

She said she could not stop thinking about the day her 2.1kg boy was taken.

“The woman picked me and my baby up with an Uber and we went to the mall in Bellville. She said I had to bring my baby as he would be part of the class I was going to attend that day.

“People need to understand that I did not take my then 9-day-old to the mall for fun and games. I took my boy because I thought I was going to a class for newborn mothers based on what this lady told me,” said Sharmar.

She said when they got to the mall, they had a bite to eat at the Hungry Lion eatery.

“We ordered the food and went to sit down and eat. I ate a small [bit] of the food then I started feeling sick and dizzy. I wasn't feeling well at all, so I packed up the food and put it in my bag, and then we went to stand at the entrance waiting for our ride,” said Sharmar.

She said her body was getting weaker and she asked the woman with her if they could sit down somewhere as she was feeling off balance.

Sharmar still had her baby firmly in her arms, at that point.

“As we were sitting, I eventually stood up, handed my child to the woman and threw up inside a bin next to me,” said Sharmar.

She recalls the woman telling her to go to the toilet to wash her face.

Sharmar said:

Frantically she ran up and down the mall, trying to locate the woman.

She even went back to the entrance they stood at to see where the woman was with her child.

“I called the police from a shopper’s phone and told them what happened. The mall was able to show me footage of what took place and it showed the woman with my child,” said Sharmar.

She said her heart is in pieces, and she is asking the woman to return her son to her.

“I haven’t allowed it to sink in yet. I am on the verge of most likely having a breakdown. But I’m trying to be strong because I have another child, a daughter who depends on me.

“It might seem from the outside that I am strong, but inside, I really am not okay. I see my boy’s face in front of me. He is only 11 days old; he needs his mother; he needs my breast milk,” sobbed Sharmar.

She said her husband had not yet met his son.

“I am broken, absolutely broken. My husband hasn't met his son yet. We were going to register our son at home affairs on Wednesday. This is all just so heartbreaking for me,” said Sharmar.

She said the police had not yet briefed the family on any updates on the case.

Western Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said the investigation continues.

Sharmar said:

“Please drop him off somewhere safe and sound and dress him warmly. Wrap him in his blankets. He’s only a few days old; he doesn't deserve this, he needs his mother. Please just bring my baby back safely, I am begging you,” said a tearful Sharmar.

Founder of The Zoe Project, Tracey Aitken, told News24 that her NGO had no knowledge of the mother of the missing baby nor had it had any dealings with her.

Aitken said:

“The name of The Zoe Project has been fraudulently used as a front by criminals acting on their own. There is no person with the name or description of ‘Chivon’, who abducted the child, working as a volunteer for our organisation.”

She confirmed that The Zoe Project was “not under investigation by the police” and was more than willing to cooperate with the investigation, wherever possible.

She said the organisation and its staff had a good relationship with the communities in which they work.

“We hope and pray that the little baby will be found and returned safely to his mom.”

Strandfontein Community Policing Forum chairperson Sandra Schuter urged residents to be on the lookout for any person “suddenly appearing” with a newborn baby boy.

“If you notice anything suspicious, please report it immediately to the police. That baby could be little Mogamat, and every piece of information is crucial at this point. We will continue to support baby Sharmar’s family throughout this difficult time,” said Schuter.

At the time of the baby’s disappearance, he was wearing a white babygrow, grey mittens on his hands, a blue vest and was wrapped in a knitted blue blanket with stars on it and a thick white-and-blue baby blanket.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stop on 086 001 0111.