CHILD SNATCHER JAILED 5 YEARS
Written by Millennium on August 16, 2019
A 43 year old Ndola based businesswoman has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for stealing a two month old baby.
Before Kapiri Mposhi Magistrate Obrien Katyamba was Jane Musonda who stood charged with one count of child stealing contrary to Section 171 (1)(a)(b) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Facts before court were that on August 3, 2019, Musonda stole a baby from its biological mother, Jacqueline Mizinga, 20, at Riverside Market in Kapiri Mposhi who was selling second hand clothes around 12:00 hours.
The incident happened when Musonda, while posing as a second hand clothes customer approached Mizinga at her stand and bought some clothes worth K 15 and later asked if she could help hold the complainant’s baby.
However, after being handed the baby Musonda suddenly disappeared with the infant.
The police launched investigations in the matter which led to the arrest of Musonda on August 6, 2019 at her residence in Ndola whilst in possession of the subject infant.
The child was recovered in good health and restituted back to its biological mother.
Musonda readily pleaded guilty to the subject offence and asked the court for leniency as she was the first offender.
In mitigation Musonda said she decided to steal the baby because she was barren but wanted to have children.
But in passing judgment Magistrate Katyamba observed that Musonda had no right to steal someone’s child and deprive a family of their baby on justification that she was barren.
Magistrate Katyamba noted that Musonda had a preconceived idea to steal the child from its mother and consequently denied it of motherly care for three days and needed to be punished accordingly.
“Child stealing is a serious offence that attracts a maximum of 14 years imprisonment but you did not waste the court’s time by readily pleading guilty and the child was recovered in good health but still you need to be punished accordingly,” Magistrate Katyamba said.
Magistrate Katyamba then sentenced Musonda to five years imprisonment but suspended two years six months of it to be served if she commits a similar offence. – ZANIS
