By Claudine Senekal
Norman Lalla, a security officer, wept as messages of support and encouragement were delivered by uThukela officials, councillors and fellow security companies when they recently hailed him as a hero. The 46-year-old officer at Mbube Security, who had not given a second thought, assisted Hlengiwe Nkabinda in giving birth to a baby girl at his Murchison Mall security office on 6 December 2021.
The security officer was hailed a hero at a hero’s ceremony held at the Ladysmith Town Hall on Tuesday, 23 August. UThukela District’s first lady, Councillor Ndlunkulu Shabalala, accompanied by Chairperson for Infrastructure Portfolio Committee, Councillor Khoza, Chairperson for Corporate Services Portfolio Committee, Councillor Zuma, and uThukela Mayoral Office Manager, OS Mnguni, had nothing but praise and words of encouragement and support for Lalla.
“It was God’s plan for officer Lalla to deliver the baby girl safely and to her mother, protecting them both at all times, despite the fact that there might be serious consequences to the actions he had decided upon, and for that we at uThukela District Municipality honour and thank him for his selfless act. Lalla is a phenomenal example of what humans can do for one another in times of trouble.
“To all the security guards, we know that we don’t thank you enough, but today we are proud and appreciate your work in keeping us safe like Lalla kept citizen Hlengiwe and her baby safe,” said Cllr Shabalala during the ceremony.
Lalla, who lives in Newcastle, is engaged to be married and is the father of a one-year-old child. He told The Ladysmith Herald that it was like any other day at work, monitoring the surveillance cameras in his security office at Murchison Mall, when he noticed Hlengiwe Nkabinde acting strangely at an ATM.
“I had first thought that she might have been robbed and in the process of that, had been hurt. I then made my way out to meet her,” said Lalla, who has been a security officer for over eight years and has been stationed at Murchison Mall for close to four years.
“I asked Hlengiwe if everything is okay before she turned to me and said: ‘I think I’m going to have my baby’,” said Lalla, who added that he could see Hlengiwe was in a state of shock and told her to remain calm before taking her to the office, where he tried numerous times to call an ambulance.
“I had asked her to sit down and told her that everything is going to be okay.” Lalla could not get hold of an ambulance and suggested that Hlengiwe make her way to a taxi, which was just a few steps from the office.
Lalla said that he was going to walk with her, however, literally seconds after they decided to go, Hlengiwe’s water broke. He then took her into the private area within the office where he continued his attempts to call an ambulance.
“Having no medical training, I did not want to risk harming Hlengiwe or the baby and this could have had worse implications on their lives and mine as well, as I might have lost my job,” said Lalla, who added that he prayed to God and minutes later, he was holding Hlengiwe’s baby in his hands.
“Everything happened so fast. I just remember Hlengiwe telling me that the baby is coming.” Lalla managed to get hold of emergency services and walked out with Hlengiwe and the baby in his hands. The umbilical cord was still attached to both mother and child, but they managed to make their way to the waiting ambulance where Hlengiwe and her baby girl could receive medical attention.
Hlengiwe was taken to the hospital and was released later the same day. Hlengiwe’s daughter is now eight months old and Lalla said that he is extremely happy about how well the little girl is doing.
“When I think back, I still get goosebumps and thank God every day for his grace,” said Lalla. He added that with the help of Debbie Bozza, Murchison Mall’s manager, they managed to put together a care package and deliver it to the healthy mother and daughter.
Hlengiwe Nkabinda spoke at the ceremony and said that she is forever grateful for Lalla’s help and for making sure that she could deliver her baby girl into this world safely and unharmed. “Thank you for what you did,” said Hlengiwe.
During the ceremony, uThukela District’s first lady, Councillor Ndlunkulu Shabalala, encouraged all security guards not to underestimate their job and to take pride in what they are doing.
Lalla was given a token of his heroism from the uThukela District Municipality and his fiancée, Slindile Msibi, said that she is incredibly proud of him. Lalla concluded that he never thought that he would be honoured like this by leaders within the community because at the end of the day, he was just doing his job and that is ensuring the safety of the shoppers within the mall.
