Pretoria – The Mpumalanga High Court on Wednesday sentenced a 26-year-old mother of two to 22 years in prison for killing her newly born baby.
Phindile Sibiya, from Belfast in Bushbuckridge, pleaded guilty to intentionally killing her newly born baby and burying her in a shallow grave.
According to Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, Sibiya told the court that in 2021, she met and fell in love with a man who promised to marry her in future.
During their brief relationship, Sibiya fell pregnant, and she tried calling her boyfriend to inform him of the situation but his phone was no longer in service.
Her mother eventually noticed that she was pregnant and threatened to kick her out of the house, as she already had two minor kids from different fathers who were not supporting the children.
“She then decided to go to the clinic to terminate the pregnancy but was unsuccessful because she was in the last stages of pregnancy. She then kept her pregnancy a secret until the delivery date, which was on 1 January, 2022,” Nyuswa said.
When she realised that she was in labour, Nyuswa went to the toilet carrying a pair of scissors. She gave birth to a baby girl and then immediately stabbed her with scissors several times until she died.
“In the morning, her mother noticed blood stains and upon questioning her, the accused admitted having given birth and concealed the deceased. She then went to retrieve the deceased’s body and the matter was reported to the police.”
Nyuswa said that a photo album and a post-mortem report confirmed that the baby was born alive.
IOL