A 22-year-old mother was this Friday arraigned before the Urban Customary Court President, Kgosi Dikwalo Monametsi, and charged with neglect of her ten month old infant, after it was discovered that she walked away, never to return, leaving her infant child with some other kids.
Maggie Phirinyane, 22, unemployed and from Mafikane Ward in Kanye, pleaded guilty to the charges of neglecting her child and asked the Urban Customary Court for mercy.
Leading evidence, Constable Ditiro Phirinyana, of the Central Police Station, told the court that the accused was arrested by Constable Moilwa of Central Police Station on the 16th /08/2006 at Ext 14 after she dumped her child next door, asked for taxi money from a neigbour, Bagadi Basima, then went to visit her boyfriend for the whole day.
Bagadi, who was in court to give evidence, told the court that Maggie Phirinyane is her next-door neighbour. She said Maggie dumped her kid at her house and showed up at her (Bagadi’s) work place to ask for money to go to her boyfriend. Bagadi said she gave her the money for the taxi.
But when Bagadi got home after work, she was surprised to find the accused’s kid at her house but its mother was not there.
Constable Phirinyana told the court that the accused was a first offender and told the court that what she did was bad because she was arrested many hours after leaving her kid.
In mitigation, Maggie asked the court not to sentence her to prison because she is taking care of the same kid she dumped.
Kgosi Monametsi advised the accused to stop making babies because she cannot take care of them.
He sentenced her to five months in jail, wholly suspended for three years.
