A Gweru woman, Sakhile Tanyanyiwa (34), has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for kidnapping a baby from its mother outside Gweru Provincial Hospital. Gweru provincial magistrate, Ms. Beaulity Dube, presided over the case.
Sakhile, who is the wife of former Police Commissioner Mekia Tanyanyiwa, pleaded guilty to the charge. The magistrate suspended six months of the sentence, leaving her with an effective 12-month jail term.
According to the State’s case, the incident occurred last Friday when the infant’s mother was returning from Gweru Provincial Hospital after collecting her baby’s birth record. Sakhile, accompanied by two others in a white Toyota Aqua (registration number AFW 6208), offered the mother a lift.
During the journey, they stopped at 6247 South View, where Sakhile asked the mother to assist another woman in disembarking from the vehicle. However, as the mother complied, the car sped off towards the Gweru-Bulawayo highway, with her baby still inside.
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The distraught mother promptly reported the incident to the police.
Sakhile took the child home, claiming to her husband that she had given birth. However, her husband grew suspicious, particularly after hearing news of a baby abduction in Gweru.
Acting on his suspicions, Mekia took the baby to CID Gweru before Sakhile eventually handed herself over to the police.
The sentencing underscores the gravity of child abduction cases and serves as a warning against such criminal actsHome – ZiMetro News
