Africa-Press – South-Africa. A three-month-old baby girl died on Wednesday morning in a shack her homeless parents had built on the side of the road in Elsies River, Cape Town.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè€ Traut told News24 that “the circumstances surrounding the death of a three-month-old baby are being investigated after the child succumbed … in a shack fire in Norwood Avenue, Elsies River yesterday. A death inquest case docket has been registered”.
The Elsies River Community Policing Forum chairperson Hamish Arries said the baby, Cherife Danielle Klaase, spent most of her three months living in an inhospitable environment.
“We don’t know what caused the death but as the community of Elsies River, we should all plead guilty for allowing this to happen,” he added.
“We failed our most vulnerable by looking the other way.
“Often, we look the other way when we witness a crime. We say we are scared to speak out, and many times rightly so, but when we look the other way because it’s not our problem, it does not affect us or we just don’t care, then everyone who knew and did nothing or did not do enough [has] to take collective blame for our failure,” he added. Ward councillor Franchesca Walker said community leaders called her to the site.
“I assisted the mom and called our City social workers, who came out immediately. I will assist the mom through our Mayoral Children Fund to lay the baby to rest. The baby’s birth has not been registered, so I will assist the mom as she would not be able to identify the baby,” she added.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted on Thursday to determine the cause of the baby’s death.
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