MASERU — A 22-year-old woman, Mahali Kotoka, is in distress after her two-week-old baby was abducted at her home in Mohalalitoe in Maseru on Monday.
Police spokesman Masupha Masupha said the police were not aware of the incident.
Kotoka said an unidentified “old woman” who was visiting her landlord came into her room at around 8pm on Monday.
She said she then went out to draw some water from a village tap just outside their yard.
She said while drawing the water her six-year-old sister came running to her shouting that the woman had snatched the baby from her back and fled.
Kotoka said she ran back to her room only to find the woman and baby gone.
“I ran to the house like a mad woman. The old woman was nowhere to be found.
“I ran to the landlord’s house to find if she had taken the baby into the house. Unfortunately no one answered the door,” Kotoka told the Lesotho Times.
She said she ran around the suburb asking if anyone had seen a woman carrying a baby pass by.
All their efforts to find the baby failed.
“No one had seen her. I could have also seen her walk out of the gate because the water tap is so close to the gate.
“There were some village men who were waiting nearby who could have seen her. But no one saw her,” she said.
“We then contacted local radio stations and the police to report about the missing baby.
“We passed the message to anyone who came to mind. I went to my sister who was still at a hair salon where she works. I was crying all the way. My sister was shocked when I told her that my baby had been stolen. We went back home where we joined the search for my baby.
“We even went to the suspect’s house. We found her and she vehemently denied ever being at my landlord’s house.
“But she was lying because I had seen her with my own eyes. I left her with my younger sister and the baby when I went to fetch water. I was not suspicious of her because I thought she had come to congratulate me over the new-born baby.”
When the Lesotho Times visited Kotoka yesterday the baby was still missing.
She said the last three days had been torture to her. She said she could not sleep at night.
“It feels like torture not knowing where my baby is. Life has been like hell since he was abducted.
“Not knowing where he is kills me. I cannot sleep at night. I have nightmares of him crying hysterically. I just wish they can bring him back to me dead or alive.”
Local chief, ‘Mafokothi Mothobi, said the community was still in shock over the incident.
Mothobi said the police arrested the landlord in connection with the missing baby.
But the Lesotho Times could not immediately verify the statement.
“She was taken to the police station by the police for further questioning and we understand investigations are continuing,” Mothobi said.
