Sameemah Jacobs Denies Kidnapping Mogamat Imaad Sharmar, Claims Mother Gave Her the 1-Week-Old
- Sameemah Jacobs made her second appearance in court, charged with kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice
- The woman is accused of kidnapping Mogamat Imaad Sharmar, a one-week-old, who was taken from the Middestad Mall in Bellville
- Police are also investigating claims by a pregnant 15-year-old who said she was approached by a woman claiming she was from the Zoey Project
- Victim advocate Pixie Pink spoke to Briefly News about the concerning trend of babies being stolen from their mothers or hospitals
Source: Twitter
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – The woman accused of kidnapping a nine-day-old baby from the Middestad Mall in Bellville has denied any wrongdoing.
Sameemah Jacobs (37) made her second appearance in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on 10 July 2025, charged with kidnapping Mogamat Imaad Sharmar. The little one was kidnapped on 28 June 2025, after his mother fell ill and left him with a woman who claimed that she was from the Zoey Project, an organisation that provides support to mothers.
His mother told police that she felt ill after consuming a drink given to her by the accused, and then left the baby with the woman while she went to the bathroom. He was found two days later at a Tafelsig home in Mitchells Plain, where Jacobs was arrested.
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Jacobs claims the mother gave her the baby
During Jacobs’ second appearance, Sergeant Dawid Fortuin of the Serious and Violent Crimes Kidnapping Unit took to the stand. Fortuin recently appeared in court during the Joslin Smith trial, as he conducted the lead interviews with Kelly Smith, Steveno van Rhyn, and Jacquin Appollis.
During his testimony in the current case, Fortuin explained that police had obtained a statement from a witness who knew the accused.
In her statement, the witness said that she visited Jacobs at the Bellville Police Station following her arrest to question her about the baby. Friends and family of the accused believed her to be pregnant and did not suspect anything when she returned home with a baby. When the witness asked Jacobs what was going on, she allegedly stated that she could not say.
“She said everything was duurmekaar (confusing) and that her husband made her so confused,” Fortuin read from the witness’s statement.
The witness also asked Jacobs whether she took the baby, to which she said that the mother, Imaan Sharmar, gave her the baby. She admitted to the witness that they did eat at Hungry Lion and had a cold drink, but maintained that she didn’t poison the baby’s mother.
“She alleges that the complainant said she is going to give the baby to her because she gave her takkies and money,” the statement read.
Jacobs also claimed that Shamar wanted more stuff as well.
Source: Twitter
Accused lost her baby in May 2025
Fortuin also revealed to the court that Jacobs was pregnant as she told family and friends, but sadly lost the baby in May 2025.
She didn’t tell anyone about this, and still pretended to visit the hospital where she claimed to have given birth to the baby. She was even picked up at the hospital with the baby by the witness, and had hospital documentation such as birth records. The records appeared to have had the date and time scratched out and made to look like it was 28 June.
Fortuin also said that police were busy with another complaint where a pregnant 15-year-old girl alleged that she was visited by a woman who also claimed to be from the Zoey Project. At this stage, it is unclear whether Jacobs was that woman. Jacobs faces charges of kidnapping and defeating the ends of administrative justice, but could face additional charges as investigations are still underway. The matter has been postponed to 17 July.
Victim advocate weighs in on disturbing case
Victim advocate Pixie Pink spoke exclusively to Briefly News about the case and other cases like these. She noted with concern how scary it was that a baby could be stolen so easily, just by the mother trusting someone with it.
Pixie Pink also noted that there have been other cases where babies were stolen from hospital wards, saying that in the past, only the parents were allowed access to the babies.
"This is a concern for me and everyone in the child protection industry, and we don't know if this is a new form of human trafficking."
She also urged mothers, if possible, to leave their babies with a mother or adult sister before going out, noting that Shamar said she believed she was poisoned, which is why she left the baby with Jacobs before going to a bathroom.
"We don't know to what extent these people are going to get hold of babies."
She added that another concern was that kidnappers often know which Home Affairs branches to go to, to get fraudulent documents to register the babies as their own. She added that paperwork in the government hospitals is also not under guard, and kidnappers work with someone in the hospital to obtain those papers.
Jacobs herself had documentation from the hospital, which showed that she was admitted there, as well as a tag and a scar from the C-section she claimed to have had to deliver the baby.
Mother of 3 appears in court
Briefly News reported that Sameemah Jacobs made a brief appearance in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on 3 July 2025.
The 37-year-old was arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a one-week-old baby boy from a Belville Mall in June.
Jacobs' family weighed in on her arrest, explaining how it came as a total surprise to them.
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Source: Briefly News
