A Bishop Lavis mom is living her worst nightmare after her two-month-old baby was snatched at a supermarket over the weekend.
The frantic mother of baby Kai-Isha Meniers says the kidnapper pretended to be pregnant to gain her trust, then stole the child and vanished without a trace.
Mom of seven Francis Meniers, 41, says she was approached by the woman while running errands for a neighbour at Shoprite on Saturday afternoon.
“I went to Shoprite for the aunty in the road so I could earn something. My sons and my daughter, Aqeelah, were with me and Shoprite was full. We took the pram with us and Kai-Isha was with us,” she tells the Daily Voice.
“The woman told me her father was Congolese and her mother was South African and that she was eight months pregnant. She told me she was expecting a boy and that she had baby girl stuff if I wanted it, and I said yes because we are all getting swaar.”
Shortly before leaving the store, the snatcher approached the mom again, this time saying she wanted to buy something for little Kai-Isha.
“She made me feel bad because I was in a hurry and just wanted to get home because the aunty who sent me was waiting for me. She insisted on buying nappies, wipes and food, so I took it,” says Francis.
She says the woman insisted on buying milk despite being told that the baby was breastfed.
Francis says she sent her daughter with the woman and left.
“I came home with the baby and still told my neighbours about this good Samaritan.
“I had to go back to Shoprite and all of a sudden, Aqeelah came back home with this woman.
“She told us she wanted to know where to deliver the donations after her husband came home from church.”
She says the woman then walked with them to Shoprite and waited outside the store for her “husband”.
“We never saw a husband but Aqeelah left and it was just me and my two sons with the baby. I had to buy loaves of bread and she offered to hold the baby.
“I was quick at the Express till and as I was paying, I couldn’t see my sons and the pram. I left everything and ran out.”
She says the woman snatched her baby and fled when the two brothers weren’t looking.
Police have circulated a picture of the suspect carrying the baby, taken from Shoprite’s CCTV footage.
A distraught Francis is begging the woman to return her child: “I don’t want explanations, I just want my child back.
“There are already rumours that I sold my child.
“How can I sell my baby? I just want my child to come home.”
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg, confirms the abduction case and says anyone who can assist should call Detective Sergeant Thembisa Buqa on 073 519 3384 or 021 935 9806.