TUESDAY, 8.30AM
The girlfriend of Lawrie Fraser — the biological father of adopted baby Timothy Funnel — appeared in court yesterday, charged with a fumbled attempt to kidnap the child.
Fraser came to public prominence when he fought a Constitutional Court battle to allow unmarried fathers a say over their children, after his then-girlfriend, violinist Adri Naude, gave their baby up for adoption. The court ruled in Fraser’s favour — but too late to affect his own case.
Two weeks after Fraser’s court victory in February this year, baby Timothy was seized from the arms of his adoptive father, missionary Barry Funnel, in Malawi. He was missing for four days until found alive, abandoned in the veld near Blantyre.
A six-month search for the kidnappers followed, culminating in the arrest on Monday afternoon of Jennifer Uys, Fraser’s current girlfriend. Uys is believed to have entered Malawi under her own name a week before the kidnapping, giving the Funnel home as her place of residence, although the Funnels have never met her. There is no border authority record of her leaving the country.
Malawian Charles Mwandira, who works in Johannesburg, appeared in court along with Uys. The two are to remain in custody for a week while prosecutors consider their bail applications.