adminMelody Baya, Court Reporter
A 15-YEAR-OLD girl has been sentenced to perform 420 hours of community service for dumping her one year seven months old baby in a bush.
The girl, who cannot be named as she is a minor, appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Abednico Ndebele facing a charge of disposing an infant.
She pleaded guilty to the charge.
The girl, who dropped out of school at grade six, said she dumped the baby because she had nowhere to live as she had been chased from home.
“I left the baby in the bush because I did not have a place to stay. My brother had instructed me to go and seek out the father of my child and not to show up until I had found him. And so I failed to find him and had to dump the baby and seek refuge at my boyfriend’s house,” she said.
“I did not consider what would happen to the baby by dumping her in a bush.”
Magistrate Ndebele sentenced her to a wholly suspended 12 months imprisonment on condition that she performs 420 hours community service at a school near her home.
He also said the girl would be in a better position to take care of the child since the school was close to her house.
“You are going to perform community service at the primary school where you will be better placed to take care of the child since it is near your home,” said Ndebele.
Prosecuting, Mufaro Mageza told the court that on August 10 at around 9.30PM, the girl left her one year and seven months old baby near Rangemore primary school in Nkulumane suburb.
The baby, he said, was seen by a passerby who took her to Emganwini police base.
A police report was made and the baby was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital for a medical check-up.
Online Reporter