Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku [email protected]
A 14-YEAR-OLD girl who made headlines in February after she was accused of kidnapping a two-year-old child in Bulawayo has been acquitted after the court found that she lacked the requisite criminal intent and was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the incident.
The teenager, who cannot be named because she is a minor, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Ms Patience Ururu on Friday. She was represented by Mr Simbarashe Innocent Madzivire of Mashayamombe Law Firm.
The court heard that the girl’s mental health deteriorated following the death of her father.
Giving evidence, her mother said she informed her daughter of her father’s death a week after his burial.
“I was not formally married to her father. I only learnt of his death a week after he had been buried and I told the accused. After that, she began suffering from nightmares. She developed mental health challenges and has not been mentally stable since,” she said.
Mr Madzivire submitted that two psychiatric experts concluded that the teenager was mentally unwell and incapable of appreciating the nature or wrongfulness of her conduct at the time of the alleged offence.
He argued that she had not intended to kidnap the child.
“The accused found the child sitting unattended in a shopping centre. Believing the child had been abandoned, she took her because there was no guardian present. She genuinely thought she was helping the child. There was no intention to deprive the lawful guardian of custody because, in her mind, no guardian was present,” he submitted.
Delivering judgment, Ms Ururu returned a special verdict of not guilty.
She said psychiatric reports presented to the court established that the accused was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression when the incident occurred.
“According to the psychiatric reports presented before this court, the accused suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and, because of her mental condition and immaturity, could not understand the gravity of her conduct or fully appreciate that her actions were wrongful,” said Ms Ururu.
The court ordered that the juvenile be placed at Luveve Training School for Girls for rehabilitation.
The ruling brings to a close a case that attracted widespread public attention in February after the toddler disappeared from her mother’s workplace before being found safe at a flat in Bulawayo’s central business district.
Prosecutor Ms Concilia Ncube told the court that on 17 February this year, the child’s mother, Nesisa Mpofu (24), was serving customers at her workplace in Meikles Building while the toddler played near her cubicle.
“The accused allegedly took advantage of the congestion in the shopping complex and carried away the child unnoticed. Ms Mpofu later realised that her daughter was missing and searched the premises before reporting the matter to the police,” said Ms Ncube.
She said detectives from the Bulawayo Homicide section launched an urgent investigation, leading to the recovery of the child from a flat in the city centre and the arrest of the accused.
The court heard that the teenager was subsequently referred to Ingutsheni Central Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
During the proceedings, the court also heard evidence concerning Godwell Mumba, a kombi driver with whom the accused had been living. Mumba is currently serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of having sexual intercourse with a minor.
