'Baby snatcher' Sameemah Jacobs slapped with trafficking charge

ALLEGED baby snatcher Sameemah Jacobs faces a charge of trafficking in persons when her case moves to the Regional Court for trial. 

She also asked the court to allow her next court date to take place after the holy month of Ramadan.

​The State is set to prove that Jacobs kidnapped Imaad Sharmar from his mother, Imaan Sharmar, at Middestad Mall in Bellville under the pretence that she was a volunteer for the NPO in June last year.

The new charge, along with a count of fraud and forgery, is expected to be added to the existing charge sheet after Jacobs made an appearance at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, dressed in a black top and pardah.

The charges relating to the fraud and forgery relate to hospital documentation which Jacobs is alleged to have forged and in which she claimed that she was the mother of Baby Imaad Sharmar.

This was revealed during the bail application when Detective Sergeant Dawid Fortuin took the witness stand. At the time of her arrest, Jacobs was found with a bag of medical documentation which was handed over to police as evidence.​

The State said they were waiting for instructions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in relation to the charges.​

The State prosecutor said they were ready to proceed with prosecution and mentioned the following charges: “Trafficking, exploitation of persons, kidnapping, fraud, and forgery.​

“It will be added to the register as per the DPP decision.” 

Jacobs’ lawyer said he had no objection to the charges being added, but told the court: “My client is requesting a date in March; she will be fasting.

Magistrate Gcobani Ndaleni agreed to hear the case again on 23 March. The date has been set to determine a Regional Court date.

​Civic organisation, Action Society, who attended the proceedings, welcomed the addition of a human trafficking charge in the kidnapping case of the nine-day-old baby allegedly taken from a mall in Bellville in June.

“The accused already faces charges of kidnapping, forgery, and fraud, and today the court heard that an additional charge of trafficking will be added when the matter moves to the regional court,” it said.

“This development is significant. Crimes involving infants are serious, and it is critical that charges fully reflect the gravity of the alleged conduct.”

​Jacobs is currently out on R4 000 bail.