SHE'S NOT A MONSTER
Alleged baby snatcher's friends tel nommer op vir haar
Family and friends embrace alleged accused baby kidnapper Sameemah Jacobs after she was released on R4 000 bail outside the Bellville Magistrate's Court.
Image: Genevieve Serra
“She's not a monster.”
These are the words of Anushka Christians, a long-time friend of accused baby snatcher Sameemah Jacobs, who was released on R4 000 bail on Tuesday.
Christians supported Jacobs throughout her bail application appearances at the Bellville Magistrate's Court following her arrest on charges of kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice after allegedly abducting 9-day-old baby Mogamat Imaad Sharmar on June 28.
Magistrate Gconbani Ndaleni on Tuesday applied strict bail conditions to Jacobs, which include that she may not visit Mitchells Plain or Strandfontein.
She is also restricted from making contact with witnesses including baby Imaad's mother, Imaan Sharmar.
She is to sign in at a designated police station and will be living with a close relative.
Outside court, Jacobs’s close friends said she was a caring mother and not the evil person people believed her to be.
“We have been friends since 2014,” said Christians.
“She is not a monster, she is a very soft-hearted lady.
“I know Sameemah as a supportive mother to her children and to children in her community.
“She helped me a lot with my two boys, whenever she could, she would assist me.
“I got a call from a friend on the evening of June 30 to say the police are at Sameemah’s mother’s house and I asked what was happening there and they said 'the baby', I couldn't even speak.
"I told myself this cannot be true, what happened here? What triggered her mind?
Sameemah Jacobs has been released on R4000 bail in the Bellville Magistrate's Court.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
“I will not say that she is innocent; if she is found guilty at the end of the matter, so it must be.
“I am just here to tell you that she is not a monster, she is a very good woman at heart.”
Jacobs’s friend, Mishkah Hendricks, looked after her three children.
“It is very emotional for us and the children,” she said.
Another friend of hers, Shamielah Davids, said she did not want to speculate about her innocence or guilt.
“Like they say, you are innocent until proven guilty,” said Davids.
Jacobs was consoled by a friend after being released from the court's holding cells.