A Zimbabwean woman serving a 10-year prison sentence for human trafficking has testified in court about how she was persuaded to sell her two-day-old baby.
Pauline Maganga (21) is a key witness against her suspected accomplice Janet Marimo.
“I joined a group called Adopt a Child which was the moderator of Marimo. In that group, there were six active members, all female, including me. I remember that in March 2023 after joining the group, I sent a message to the group to inform them [members] I was 6 months pregnant.
“I told them that I was not in a position to take care of myself even after the baby was born, as I was financially unstable. All the group members responded to my message and were all willing to take care of me during my pregnancy, pay the hospital bills and then take the baby for adoption after the birth.”
Marimo advises her not to sell her child to the other group members.
“She said they would take my baby for organ donation, so she volunteered to help me with all the medical costs, including money to visit the gynaecologist. Marimo gave me 1,000 ZAR to pay the hospital bills and the balance was supposed to be paid by the end of July 2023. I only got the baby’s birth card and was told that I would get the baby’s birth record after I paid the balance of 1,800 ZAR.”
Maganga said she struck a deal with Marimo to pay her R25,000 so she could adopt the child. She then smuggled the undocumented child through an illegal port of entry.
Police received information that Marimo, who was never pregnant, had returned from South Africa with a then five-month-old baby. Police investigations led to her arrest.
