John Muyamba

RUNDU – A 23-year-old Angolan woman, Isabela Lukas, who was arrested for allegedly dumping her baby at the Ndama location at Rundu on Thursday, was remanded in custody when she appeared on a charge of abandonment of a child, read with Section 1 of Child Care and Protection Act 3 of 2015.

Lukas appeared before Rundu magistrate Sonia Samupofu, while public prosecutor Godfry Shivolo represented the State in the matter.The prosecutor objected to granting her bail on the basis that she is a foreign national.

Her case was remanded to 4 October when she made her first court appearance on Monday, which was subsequently remanded to Tuesday and later to Wednesday. On Wednesday, the magistrate postponed it to Monday 10 October for sentencing.

On Thursday morning last week, at about 08h00, a newborn baby was discovered in the open area at the Ndama location in the Rundu district. “It is alleged a newborn living baby was abandoned after being intentionally dumped near the Ndama location sewage. Upon discovery, it was detected that the baby was alive and was rushed to the Rundu hospital by the police, where the baby received care and is in stable condition,” said the police in a report.

On the same day, the accused mother was identified and arrested for dumping and exposing the baby to danger. The accused is admitted to the Rundu State Hospital for medical attention.