Job seeker loses baby
Written by Millennium on May 7, 2020
LINDA SOKO TEMBO writes
A YOUNG woman of Kabwe has narrated how she lost her baby after being lured to start work in Lusaka.
Nelly Nalwamba, 19, told the Sun, that a woman had promised her a job in Lusaka but ended up stealing her three-months-old child.
The body of the girl was later dumped in nearby Bumi river in Chumbu village in Chisali District, the police have said.
Nelly: It was on March 28 this year around 10:00 hours when I left home with the baby on my back. Just when I was about to cross the road a woman in her 20s ran after me and greeted me.
This is a recreation of the conversation Nelly had with the woman who stole her baby based on her recollection of events:
Woman: how are you?
Nelly: I am fine.
Woman: I am looking for a house helper.
Nelly: I have not heard of anyone looking for such kind of a job.
Woman: What about you? Would you want a job?
Nelly: I would love to work but I have a three months old baby who is very small.
Woman: You will be taking care of a seven-year-old child, you can come with your baby.
(Nelly agreed and invited the woman to her home where they found Nelly’s brother but her grandmother was not home. She asked the woman if they could wait for her guardian who was not home, to tell her about the new job.)
Woman: We do not have much time, we need to go back to Lusaka so that you can start working and we do not have enough time to wait for your grandmother .I will leave my number with your brother she will be able to call us.
(Nelly agreed and went to pack her clothes and the baby’s clothes in a suitcase and they got on a bus going to Lusaka.
They reached Lumumba Bus stop around 15:00 hours, the woman went with the bus conductor to get money at a mobile money booth. When the woman came back, she found Nelly carrying the baby on her back.)
Woman: I will not manage to carry the suitcase because I sat for some time the suitcase is heavy, I have a problem with my leg let me carry the baby and you carry the suitcase.
(Nelly gave the woman the baby to carry, got the suitcase and they started walking.)
Woman: Let us go to the bank I need to get some money so that we can buy some food.
(When they reached the bank, somewhere near Kulima tower, the woman peeped into the bank and said there was no network so they would have to wait. After close to two hours, the woman told Nelly to wait and left again with the baby. She came back after a while.)
Woman: I have found a neighbour who has a taxi to help us with a suitcase let me give them so that we will not have too many things to carry when we buy groceries in Shoprite.
(The woman told Nelly to wait and that she would be back to get the bags. That was the last time Nelly saw the woman and the baby.)
Nelly narrates: I waited but the woman did not come back and I asked a woman who was nearby if she had seen me standing with a woman who had a baby on her back she said yes. I told her that the lady had stolen my baby and I explained everything.
The woman took me to Kulima tower police post, I explained to the police, and that day I spent the night at the police station and the following day the woman who took me to the police took me to her home in Misisi compound to stay with her while waiting for my mother to come.
The baby was born on January 17 this year and was stolen on March 28.
And Grace Chikumbi the grandmother of the baby who was stolen said she was very sad that her grandson was stolen.
Ms Chikumbi: My prayer is; may the woman who stole my grandson return him to us, his family.
The baby is my first grandchild. I want the woman to return the baby he was two months when he was stolen and now he is three months.
I do not have negative thoughts like the child was taken for rituals. I am positive that my grandchild is alive and that is exactly how I want this child to come back to us.
My daughter and the baby’s father are not married and the father of the child is not happy about what happened to his baby. He is very sad.
Meanwhile, Dorothy Chikondi, the aunt to Nelly, said all they wanted as a family was the baby to be brought back to the mother and that whoever got the baby should return the child.
Children are leaders of tomorrow, it is very sad that the child was stolen we are appealing to government to help us find the baby and the culprits be brought to book.
If you have seen this baby kindly contact 0973407771, 0979863684, 0977171181.