A woman accused of kidnapping two babies from Dora Nginza Hospital earlier this month, flashed a big smile to her family seated in the public gallery of the New Brighton magistrate’s court, before walking back down to the holding cells.
Appearing briefly on Friday morning, Sinovuyo Rabula was told her formal bail application would only proceed next week.
The state had requested a postponement to confirm the 22-year-old kidnapping accused’s new address, and to verify whether she had any previous convictions or pending cases.
Rabula was arrested after she allegedly snuck past security into Dora Nginza's maternity ward and snatched two babies before carrying them out in bags.
She was arrested after screenshots from CCTV footage were circulated on social media, of a woman carrying two bags out the hospital.
Neighbours in Motherwell notified the police when they visited the suspect’s home and heard babies crying inside the house.
The babies were unharmed and have since been reunited with their families.
The motive for the alleged kidnapping is yet to be established.
However, the incident led to the public questioning the security at the hospital, and what the suspect’s intentions had been for the babies.
Rabula made her first court appearance on Friday last week alongside a second suspect.
However, the charges against her co-accused were withdrawn.
State prosecutor Tara Tregoning said the state would oppose her release on bail.
It also came to light that Rabula’s boyfriend, who she had been living with before her arrest, had indicated that she was no longer welcome at his home.
Legal Aid SA attorney Siphela Gila said he was opposed to the state’s request for a postponement as it was in the interest of justice that his client be released on bail as soon as possible.
He indicated that the accused’s mother was willing to accommodate her now that she was no longer living with her boyfriend.
Gila also submitted that the accused had a clean record.
Tregoning countered that it was the state’s duty to provide the court with complete profiles of accused people.
She added that while Rabula’s mother may have agreed to accommodate her daughter, the investigating officer still had to visit the address and verify it as suitable, should bail be granted.
The court subsequently granted the state’s request for a remand.
Rabula will return to court on June 6.
The Herald