BY SILAS NKALA A ZIMBABWEAN teenage girl who was placed at a “safe centre” by Botswana police after her mother was arrested for illegal entry into the country reportedly disappeared from custody.
Reports from Botswana suggest that Natalie Gurumani (13) went missing from police custody on March 15.
Her mother, Charity Gurumani, did not find her at the centre when she went to fetch her after she was released.
Gurumani, who returned to Botswana legally on March 13 to look for her child, is now appealing for information on her whereabouts from the public.
It is alleged that Natalie was taken away from Gurumani’s aunt, Janet Kabelo, by Botswana police after her mother had gone job-hunting.
“It later turned out that Gurumani was arrested by the police and deported back to her home country, Zimbabwe, for unlawfully remaining in Botswana. While Gurumani was still sorting out her passport in Zimbabwe, social workers and the police took her daughter from Kabelo to place her in a secret safe shelter,” media reports from Botswana said.
When she returned a month later, the girl was missing, and Gurumani was instead charged with child negligence and detained.
It is alleged that the social workers who took the child away had a court order.
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Officer Commanding N03, Theriso Thatayotlhe confirmed to Botswana media that Natalie was missing and the case was reported at Tlokweng Police Station.
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