Five-year prison sentence for backstreet abortionists

A Ugandan teacher and his South African wife who pleaded guilty to operating a back-alley abortion clinic have each been sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the Durban Regional Court on Friday.

Ahmed Katabanzi‚ 48‚ and his wife Buyisiwe Sosibo‚ 40‚ were arrested when police and city officials raided their “clinic” in the Durban city centre in December last year.

In it‚ the court heard‚ officials found evidence that women were given a scheduled labour-inducing drug and made to sit on a chair with a hole in the seat. When contractions began and the foetus was expelled into a packet‚ they were handed the mortal remains.

This resulted in several foetuses being dumped in refuse bins in the central business district.

The couple‚ both charged with five counts of contravening the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act‚ had tendered a guilty plea in February.

Magistrate Prem Singh‚ in handing down the sentence‚ said that court had to be cognisant of the public outcry at the existence of these backstreet abortion clinics and their inherent dangers.

“The court has to send a strong message to those operating such facilities and those who wish to operate them to act as a deterrent. The court is also mindful of the fact that the accused have no medical qualifications yet were operating such a facility and dispensing medication‚” he said.

He said that the drug used to induce labour was scheduled and could only be obtained by a medical professional. “While the accused pleaded guilty‚ they failed to disclose to the court where these drugs were obtained from‚” he added.