Police in Secunda, Mpumalanga, could not sit idly by as a woman in labour waited for an ambulance and took it upon themselves to assist in the delivery of the baby.
On Sunday, at about 3.30am, Constable Prudence Diwe and Constable Jabulani Shongwe assisted in bringing a healthy baby boy into the world.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Captain Magonseni Nkosi said police management could not be more proud of their colleagues.
Nkosi said the officers were dispatched to the scene after its radio control received a complaint about a couple seated on the roadside next to their motorbike on the P138 road.
“The husband informed the police that his wife was in labour and they were going to the hospital. He further said the situation worsened and they had to stop on the roadside. Secunda radio control also contacted medical personnel to assign an ambulance to the scene,” Nkosi said.
“On the members' arrival, medical personnel were still on their way. The woman was already in full labour. Hence, the members resorted to extending a helping hand. They assisted the woman in delivering a healthy baby boy.”
On the arrival of the ambulance at the scene, the baby was already born and both the mother and newborn baby boy were transported to the nearest hospital for medical attention.
The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela commended the officers for going above the call of duty.
In a separate incident, a 41-year-old woman who stabbed her husband to death in a fight over a loud radio was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Mpumalanga High Court.
Thembi Promise Simelane and her husband, Thulani Wonder Vilakazi, 53, had been drinking and hosting visitors at their home on January 14, 2023, when the incident happened.
After the visitors left, the wife asked the husband to lower the volume, and when he refused, a verbal altercation ensued and she stabbed the man twice.