No bail for baby abductor
2005-01-20 14:48
Nelspruit - A teenager accused of abducting a church minister's baby in Swaziland and smuggling her into South Africa with the aim of raising her as a prostitute was denied bail on Thursday.
The 15-year-old girl, who first convinced police she was 21, was not asked to plead to a charge of child abuse when she appeared in the KaBokweni magistrate's court.
"Her uncle produced her birth certificate, which proved she was only 15," said KaNyamazane police spokesperson inspector Isaac Mnisi.
The teenager was remanded in custody and will be held in the juvenile section of Nelspruit prison until her trial begins on February 14.
She was arrested in Newscom tribal trust outside Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, on Tuesday when neighbours reported her to police for repeatedly beating the 18-month-old girl until she cried.
She allegedly confessed to police that she wanted to raise the child as a prostitute and make money.
"We first thought she was mentally disturbed, but she insisted that she had a plan," said Inspector Mnisi.
Reverend Mduduzi Kunene of the Holy Methodist Episcopal Church in Mbabane, Swaziland, said on Wednesday he nearly collapsed when he was reunited with his daughter, Temetimandze.
Youth leader
He said the teenager had been a member of his church since she was a child and was recently made a youth leader.
"The child was well respected in the community and in my church. I recently appointed her as a leader to be an example to other girls.
"Now I don't know how I'm going to explain this to the church on Sunday," he said.
He said the teenager had stayed with his family for four days in November, before disappearing with his daughter on November 11.
His daughter was repeatedly featured on SABC's missing children's programme.
"We are very happy to find our daughter still alive, although she's badly bruised and has lost half her body weight," he said.
The teenager, if found guilty, will serve her sentence in South Africa, before being deported to Swaziland, where she will be charged and tried for abduction.
Mnisi said 17 missing children from the KaNyamazane area had been found in the past two months and reunited with their families with the help of the media.