Mitchell's Plain woman expected to appear in Court after baby kidnapping at Bellville mall
Baby Mogamat Imaad Sharmar was safely reunited with his mother, Imaan Sharmar, after being rescued by police following kidnapping in Bellville.
Image: Supplied
A 37-year-old woman from Tafelsig, Mitchell's Plain, is set to appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Thursday following her arrest in connection with the kidnapping of a newborn baby at the Middestad Mall in Bellville last Saturday.
The nine-day-old baby boy, Mogamat Imaad Sharmar, was abducted around 1.26 pm, June 28, when the child's mother, 25-year-old Imaan Sharmar, left him in the care of the accused while she went to the bathroom after feeling unwell.
According to provincial police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk, the suspect had allegedly befriended the young mother even before the child was born, claiming to work for an organisation offering support and care packages to new mothers.
A multidisciplinary crime combating team, comprising the Provincial Organised Crime: Anti-Kidnapping Investigation, Crime Intelligence, and the Bellville Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, worked around the clock since the kidnapping was reported on Saturday.
“Owing to the meticulous investigation and the analytical approach to the information at their disposal, the team pounced on an address in Honolulu Street in Tafelsig on Monday, June 30, 2025, where they found the child and, in the process, detained a 37-year-old female for kidnapping,” van Wyk said.
The baby was found safe and reunited with his family on Monday evening. An emotional Imaan Sharmar expressed her relief and joy after receiving the call from police shortly after 9pm.
"I cannot express it, but I am overjoyed. I am at ease," she said, adding that she could not stop holding her son or gazing into his eyes.
Sharmar also noted that her baby was still dressed in the same vest she had put on him on Saturday, although the rest of his clothing appeared to have been replaced with new garments, presumably bought by the accused.
The accused is expected to face charges of kidnapping when she appears in the Bellville Magistrate's Court today.
Meanwhile, police investigations continue as authorities work to uncover further details about the suspect's intentions and possible links to other incidents.
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