A HARARE magistrate has jailed for 10 years a 23-year-old woman from Gokwe after she pleaded guilty to selling her two-day-old infant.
In passing sentence, magistrate Lazini Ncube said although Pauline Maganga’s defence was that she was struggling to survive, selling the infant was unlawful.
According to prosecutor Tendai Tapi, Maganga sold her son to her accomplice on June 26 last year, two days after giving birth, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Investigations revealed that in October last year, the accomplice smuggled the infant into Zimbabwe and was arrested on November 27, 2023, following a tip-off. The infant was placed under the care of the Department of Social Welfare.
Maganga was arrested on her return to Zimbabwe after she heard that her accomplice had been arrested.
She, however, defended her actions during, trial arguing that she had been abandoned by the man who impregnated her and was struggling to make ends meet during her pregnancy.
Maganga told the court that she had sold the baby for 25 000 South African rands and had received part of the payment.
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