A Harare court has sentenced a woman who sold her child to South Africa to 10 years in prison.
Pauline Maganja from Gokwe was convicted of human trafficking.
“The victim is a child in this case and the perpetrator is a parent. The crime was committed under aggravating circumstances and there were no special circumstances to consider. It was her duty to preserve and protect this child, but she chose to turn him into a commodity for the purpose of trafficking.
“In this modern world, no one should be sold. We have gone through the era of the slave trade. She should have given the child up for adoption legally if she was really poor,” said Justice Lazini Ncube.
Maganja revealed in court that she received a total of R25,000 for the child. The arrangement was to obtain the child’s birth certificate by October 29 last year, but she did not meet this requirement.
This led to Marimo
She entered Zimbabwe illegally with the child and was arrested at the Falls on November 27 after a tip-off. Upon learning of Marimo’s arrest, Maganja returned to Zimbabwe on 12 December.
The child is now under the care of the Ministry of Social Welfare.
