Johannesburg - The Mokopane Regional Court has sentenced Anna Matjila to eight years in jail for kidnapping a baby at Mokopane shopping centre last month.
Charges against her accomplice, her 23-year-old boyfriend, were withdrawn pending further investigations, said Limpopo police spokesperson Maphure Manamela.
''She appeared before Mokopane Regional Court for stealing the baby. After her first appearance on April 15 2019 where she was denied bail, her case was heard yesterday [Tuesday] and was ultimately sentenced to eight years imprisonment.''
Matjila met the mother at Mokopane shopping centre last month and offered to hold the baby so that the mother could eat. They then went into a supermarket with Matjila still carrying the six-week-old baby. She then disappeared with the infant without the mother noticing.
Matjila and her boyfriend were arrested after they were found in possession of the baby at Ga-Mphela village outside Polokwane. The baby was unharmed.