Mom appears for ‘trying to sell toddler’

Sharika Regchand

DURBAN: Zama Madlala, of Pietermaritzburg, had to leave school after Grade 10 because of financial woes.

She struggled to get a job because she did not have a matric certificate. This was a problem she hoped to rectify.

Now, as she prepares for her court case, the last thing on the 20-year-old’s mind is going back to school. Zama was arrested last week and charged with contravening the Human Trafficking Act.

She had allegedly tried to sell her 19-month-old toddler on the online classifieds website Gumtree.

A visitor to the site alerted police and a trap was set, which culminated in her arrest after she had allegedly accepted R5 000 in duplicated notes from two undercover police officers who pretended to be buyers.

The neighbourhood where she lives in Azalea township, near Imbali, was abuzz with speculation as to what might have made her want to get rid of the child.

Some said it was poverty, while others said the child’s alleged father was questioning his paternity.

Zama’s brother Nathi confirmed yesterday that she was having problems with the father, who worked in Umzimkhulu.

“All I know is that he wanted a DNA test done. She never told me anything else.”

Yesterday Zama’s mother, Kotsiwe Madlala, sat in the family’s rundown two-bedroomed house where she lives with Zama, her three adult sons and three grandchildren (including Zama’s child) and spoke fondly of her daughter.

She said her husband left the house when Zama was in Grade 10. This meant she had to leave school. Zama wanted to study again, but had no funds to do so.

“She was a fun-loving person. She was usually the comedienne at home.”

Madlala said Zama clearly loved the child, who was not troublesome.

Zama was the only one in the household who got a government grant for her child, said the mother, adding that the other children did not have birth certificates.

Madlala, as the breadwinner of the family, worked part-time. The family relied on her income and the grant money, as her three sons were unemployed. The mother said she was upset about what had happened.

Madlala said she was a regular churchgoer, but Zama did not attend the same church as it was too strict.

A neighbour, Zibuse Kunene, said he often used to see Zama playing with her child in the yard. “I was shocked to hear what happened.”

The man, said to be the father of the child, did not want to talk about the matter.

A Department of Social Development spokesperson said the child was being kept at a place of safety.

Zama will appear again in court next week. She has been remanded.