TINSOALO Sibuyi was in an heated argument with her lover when she went into labour and ended up having her baby all alone in her tiny shack.
Now the 25-year-old has to explain to the Mhala Regional Court in Mpumalanga how the newborn baby ended up dead at the bottom of a pit toilet. Tinsoalo told the court on Monday that her lover fled when she started having labour pains, leaving her to give birth all alone in May last year.
“When I delivered the baby it didn’t cry, so I assumed it was already dead. I decided to put it in the pit toilet,” she said.
“I was stressed and alone at home. This would have been my second child with a second man. I already had problems with my boyfriend and I faced the challenge of raising my children alone. I’m unemployed and the father of my other child doesn’t support us.”
Social worker Mbuso Siwela recommended a suspended jail term for the accused.
“She was raised as an orphan. She is unemployed and she depends on social grants. We have programmes she can attend to become a better mother,” said Siwela.
However Magistrate Elmarie Theron said a forensic report revealed the baby’s neck was broken. She said she feared the accused would not be a good guardian as she had a short temper.
“If the accused is given a suspended sentence her child and siblings will not be safe. We need to have a correctional supervision report on what rehabilitation programmes can be offered to her,” she said. Theron postponed sentencing until tomorrow.