The house synonymous with the brutal story of the abuse, torture, neglect and murder of Havenside toddler, known as Baby X, at the hands of her mother and grandmother, has been saved from being forfeited to the state by the man who once tried to allegedly adopt the toddler in the hopes of giving her a better life, two years before her death in 2014.
As Child Protection Week draws to a close, the eldest grandson of the maternal family of Baby X, Kuben Naidoo, recently took occupation of the home where she was pronounced dead in 2014. He appealed to residents to not let her death go in vain by speaking out against the abuse of any child, not only their own and not only during commemorative days, but every day. News of the gruesome details surrounding the toddler’s death sparked outrage worldwide as her grandmother was arrested by members of the Bayview police after paramedics alerted them to the seriousness of the toddler’s injuries when they were called out to assess why she was not breathing on the morning of 20 November, 2014. Police subsequently arrested Baby X’s mother and both women faced charges including multiple counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, child abuse, sexual assault, murder and rape.
The indictment pieced together the shocking and bizarre details of brutal abuse that Jamie faced at the hands of the two women, during the last two days before leading to her death. Naidoo, who is the only family member who had relations with Baby X when she was about a year-and-a-half old, spoke to media for the first time since her death, almost seven years ago. Fighting tears, he said thoughts of her death still haunt him as she would have been spared from the brutal abuse and torture she endured at the hands of his aunt and cousin had they let him take her into his care as they had planned on 22 October 2012. “I knew my cousin was addicted to drugs and that she had children who were in the custody of my aunt. My wife and I were unable to have any children of our own and my sister knew the void this left in a loving marriage so she encouraged us to approach my aunt regarding taking over the custody of one of the children, who was Baby X. She was a year-and-a-half and we went to speak to my aunt, who agreed that she would let us take care of her as our own. We were excited to finally be able to love and care for such an adorable bundle of joy. We bought her a pink dress and went there knowing we were going to take her shopping to get clothes, essentials or whatever she needed before we got home. We were living in Merebank at the time. When we got to Imperial Drive, which belonged to my grandparents and was the home in which I grew up, I remember feeling all sorts of excitement knowing I was finally going to have a little baby girl to hold in my arms and take care of,” said Naidoo.
His feelings of joy were short-lived and while his sister and wife showered and dressed the toddler in the pretty pink dress that he had picked out for her he sat with the grandmother, his aunt, as she explained to him why she could not let him take the toddler as agreed upon the week before. “She told me that she gave the idea of giving Baby X to them more thought, and she could not do it because the authorities (child welfare) would be onto her during their visits and she would get into trouble, as there were other children in her care and they wouldn’t want to get into trouble with the law. I tried to convince her and I even told her that she could keep the grant money which she uses to support Jamie every month and that I was prepared to take care of her and also bring her to visit and to spend the day when the social workers came to do their check-ups. All I knew is that I wanted to love and care for this little girl and had that happened, she would be a beautiful 10-year-old girl, this year,” he said.
Naidoo said at the time of her death, many residents in the community were angry after hearing the manner in which she died but to him, it felt as if he could feel no anger, only pain and heartache. “I appeal to those who can afford to be a lookout for children, to always do so and never to turn a blind eye to anything, even the smallest scar or bruise or sign of neglect. When Baby X was dressed and brought to me, I noticed that she had old scars which looked like burn marks on her arms. I could not see any other part of her body, but I questioned my aunt about it. She told me that it was scars from when she was playing and had hurt herself. I was broken to find out where the scars really were from. Please, if you know of children who are being taken care of by people addicted to drugs, always check if they are neglected or abused as children don’t always have the might to speak up and can easily be manipulated. Be their voice. I wish I had spotted the signs as serious so that I could have acted, but now that I know, I will be more aware and everyone should too,” he added. Baby X’s maternal grandmother died in Westville Prison at age 59, on 10 April 2018, while awaiting trial. The toddler’s mother was found guilty of all 15 counts and was handed an effective jail sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment in November 2018. To report abuse, call Child Line on 08000 55555.
“I appeal to those who can afford to be a lookout for children, to always do so and never to turn a blind eye to anything, even the smallest scar or bruise or sign of neglect.”
