Woman jailed 10 years for selling 2-day-old baby

A Harare magistrate has sentenced a 23-year-old woman from Gokwe to 10 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to selling her two-day-old infant.

In delivering the sentence, Magistrate Lazini Ncube acknowledged Pauline Maganga's claim that she was struggling to survive but emphasized that selling the infant was illegal.

Prosecutor Tendai Tapi presented the case, detailing that Maganga sold her son to an accomplice on June 26 of the previous year, just two days after giving birth in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Investigations revealed that in October, the accomplice smuggled the infant into Zimbabwe. The accomplice was arrested on November 27, 2023, following a tip-off, and the infant was placed under the care of the Department of Social Welfare.

Maganga was arrested upon her return to Zimbabwe after learning of her accomplice's arrest.

During the trial, Maganga defended her actions, arguing that she had been abandoned by the man who impregnated her and was struggling to survive during her pregnancy.

She informed the court that she had sold the baby for 25,000 South African rands and had received part of the payment.