SILOAM – Controversy surrounds security systems at Siloam hospital after a baby disappeared shortly after she was born.

A river of tears is flowing over the cheeks of the baby’s mother, Mrs Selinah Tsanwani of Milaboni at Nzhelele, who gave birth to a baby girl at Siloam hospital on Monday at 17:00. According to the police, the baby was allegedly snatched when her mother was asleep.

When she woke up at about 03:00 on Tuesday, the 40-year-old mother realised that her baby was missing.

Speaking to Mirror, the police spokesperson in the Vhembe District, Capt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi, said that the police from the dog unit had already resumed searching for the missing baby. “We are appealing to people with information that can help us to unite the baby with her biological mother and arrest the thief to inform their nearest police station,” he said.

After carefully reading the reports from three nurses and eight security officers who were on duty when the baby girl went missing, Kutelani Sigidi, liaison officer at the hospital told Mirror that the search they conducted on Tuesday at the hospital with the police drew a blank. “Presently, the management also took the reports to the police, while they (management) are still thoroughly reading them in order to identify if there was any negligence on the part of the nurses and the security officers. If we find that there was negligence, we are not going to leave any stone unturned,” he said.

Sigidi, who remained tight lipped when asked how the baby could go missing if security officers are always visible at the busy maternity ward, insisted on saying that they were conducting their own investigations together with the police. “The management is still going to decide whether the present number of security personnel should be reinforced or not, but at the same time we are appealing to our staff members and members of the community at large to assist us in reuniting the missing innocent baby girl with her worried mother,” he said. Kutelani further said that the hospital is whole-heartedly affected by the ordeal.