Zephany Nurse wins identity challenge

Zephany Nurse, abducted shortly after birth from a Cape Town Hospital, can now reveal her identity. Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) Judge Peter Mabuse last week terminated the restrictions relating to the publication of the identity of Nurse which is contained in the orders of the court dated 21 April 2015, and 11 July 2017, News24 reports. On 11 July 2017, the High Court dismissed an application to prevent the naming of child victims, witnesses and offenders after they turned 18. The Centre for Child Law, Media Monitoring Africa, lawyers for Zephany Nurse, who was at the centre of a previous case, and others brought the case, seeking clarity on the interpretation of section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Act, as well as an order granting further protection once children turn 18. Several media houses opposed the case. Judge Wendy Hughes ruled that child witnesses, victims and offenders under the age of 18 are offered protection by Section 154 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act, but that the order sought by the applicants, that their identity be protected after the age of 18, be dismissed as it was neither permissible nor required by the Constitution. Furthermore, the court ruled that the true identity of Zephany Nurse be protected until after possible appeals. Nurse, who is now 22, wants to reveal her identity as a book telling her life will be published soon. Nurse was kidnapped while her mother was sleeping just days after giving birth. The woman who kidnapped her was sentenced to 10 years behind bars. She said, although she now wanted to reveal her identity to the world, she supported the main application made by Centre for Child Law and other applicants in the matter.

Full Fin24 report

Zephany's identity was revealed in the book entitled Zephany: Two mothers, one daughter, an unbelievable true story. Just hours after her High Court success, the book was set to hit the shelves, notes TimesLIVE. Announcing the book, NB Publishers said on its website: ‘It is every mother's worst nightmare: Your newborn baby is kidnapped shortly after birth. But how does it feel if you find out as a teenager that you are in fact the kidnapped baby? Your mother is your kidnapper and you are Zephany Nurse. In this book, Miché Solomon tells her side of the story for the first time. She talks about her battle with her double identity, the complicated relationships with her two families, and who she is now.’

See Book Review

– TimesLIVE