Arron Nyamayaro
A WOMAN, who sold her newly-born child for R25,000 in South Africa in a shocking human trafficking case, and then LIED that the baby was dead, says she deeply regrets her diabolical action.
The baby was sold just two days after her birth.
Pauline Maganga, 27, is serving a 10-year jail term at Chikurubi Female Prison.
The 27-year-old woman has, for the first time, spoken about the crime which sent her to prison.
She has told H-Metro that she feels she also sold her soul, when she sold her child, from where the baby was set to be flown to Australia to be sold for adoption.
Maganga says she has turned to song writing and is hopeful that her songs will play a part in the fight against child abuse and human trafficking.
Chikurubi Female Prison has been her home since she was jailed in May 2024.
Maganga, of Gokwe, says she deeply regrets her actions and has written more than ten songs and hopes to record them while serving her prison sentence.
“By cashing in on my child, I sold my soul,” she told H-Metro in her first comments, and media interview, since her conviction.
“I feel I was convicted, not only by the courts of law, but also by the spirit of God.
“I regret my actions and owe the Almighty my life.
“I want to serve Him by fighting child abuse and human trafficking.
“I have already started composing and singing songs.
“I hope to record more albums, taking advantage of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service recording studio, and look forward to hearing them played on ZPCS’s The Bridge Radio.
“I am undergoing rehabilitation and it is helping me correct my mistakes. Children are our inheritance and gifts from God.”
Maganga has also joined a ZPCS choral group made up of male and female inmates.
Last week, she had an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with music veterans during a musicians’ tour of Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, Chikurubi Female Prison and Harare Central Prison.
She performed two of the songs, which she has written.
The artists, who toured the three prisons, included Ntombizodwa Mangota, second wife of the late Cde Chinx, Selma Mtukudzi, Leonard Zhakata, Knowledge Kunenyati, Shepherd Chinyani, and Zimdancehall artist Manex Motsi.
Maganga pleaded guilty to selling her two-day-old newly-born child for R25,000 in South Africa.
She told the court she met the scheme’s mastermind, Janet Marimo, through a Facebook group focused on child adoption, and that severe financial hardship led her to take part in the deal.
In February last year, Marimo was convicted of conspiring to buy a two-day-old baby from its mother for R25,000 and then sell the child for adoption in Australia.
She was sentenced to five years in jail.
Maganga testified in court that she began talking to Marimo in March 2023, through a Facebook group focused on child adoption.
Marimo was the administrator of the group, which had six active members, including two from South Africa, two from the United States, and Maganga from Zimbabwe.
Maganga, who was six months pregnant at the time, posted in the group about her struggles, stating she lacked the resources to care for herself or the unborn child.
Group members expressed willingness to assist her during her pregnancy, cover hospital bills, and take custody of the child after birth.
On June 27, 2023, Maganga gave birth at Far East Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she met Marimo in person for the first time.
Hospital policy required Maganga, a foreigner, to pay R2,800 in fees to receive the child’s birth card and records.
Marimo paid R1,000 that day, with the remaining R1 800 due by the end of July.
After the birth, Maganga agreed to sell the baby to Marimo for R25,000.
Marimo fulfilled the payment, and Maganga handed over the child.
Maganga was supposed to obtain the baby’s birth certificate by October 29, 2023.
However, she failed to do so.
This led Marimo to smuggle the undocumented baby from South Africa to Zimbabwe through an illegal border crossing.
Authorities arrested Marimo in Waterfalls, Harare, on November 27, 2023, after receiving a tip-off.
WhatsApp messages extracted from her cellphone provided evidence of her involvement.
Upon hearing of Marimo’s arrest, Maganga returned to Zimbabwe on December 12, 2023.
The child is currently in the care of the Department of Social Welfare.
