I placed an advertisement in Gumtree, selling my baby for R5,000: Mother pleads guilty

A 19-year-old Pietermaritzburg mother pleaded guilty to selling her 19-month-old son for R5 000 in a police trap and admitted that she had submitted the child to the control of another person and advertised him for sale on Gumtree.

The mother, who has been in custody since the attempted sale in October this year, was granted bail of R2 500 and placed under house arrest in the home of her parents.

Regional Magistrate Rose Magwera convicted her of the three charges and adjourned matter until February 29 for sentencing procedures.

Tearful at times, the mother told the court she became pregnant at the age of 17 when she was no longer at school.

She said she was in love with two boyfriends and she did not know which one was the father.

One denied responsibility and disappeared and the other said he wanted to first see the baby. In February he accepted that he was the father and gave her R1 300 a month.

In 2015, they argued over an issue she could not recall and he demanded they get DNA tests done on the child.

"All three of us, the child, boyfriend and I had DNA tests.

"Two weeks later, he SMSed me: "X [he] is excluded from being a biological father of Y [the child].

"In September, I placed an advertisement in Gumtree, selling my baby for R5,000. Two days later, I received a call from an Indian saying she was interested in the child and would call me again.

"About three days later she called to say she would get a loan from a bank and later she said she had received the loan. We agreed to meet and that she was wearing a pink shirt and was waiting for me at the door of a KFC.

"Upstairs of the KFC, she asked me what to buy for my son and I said he only eats cereal. She asked if she could hold the baby and asked if she could give me the money. I said yes. The money was in a bank bag which she took from her handbag and told me to count it, which I did.

"I counted R5 000 in R200 notes, which I put into my handbag.

"She asked if I wanted to leave and I said yes. As I got up, I was approached by two female police officers and they said I was under arrest.

"I was taken outside the KFC where I was made to stand and hold the money while they took pictures of me. They took me to their office where they took statements from me and later I was detained at a police station.

"I admit that my actions were wrongful, unlawful and intentional. I have no defence," the woman said.

Source: News24