Court orders mother to sweep in classes for concealing birth

The woman who dumped her newly born baby into a pit latrine last week at Ulongwe in Balaka district stunned the court when she asked for forgiveness saying she had to kill her newly born baby just to jump the additional responsibility as she already has seven children whose first born is 12 years old while the last born is only a year-old.

The suspect Daliya Alick who claims to have given birth to all her children at home was taken before the Ulongwe Third Grade Magistrate Court to answer the case of concealing the birth of the child which is contrary to section 232 of the penal code.

Police Prosecutor Sergeant Yohane Chaomba told the court that the suspect  Alick 32, on Tuesday 14th April, 2015 at her home village Mdenga gave birth to a baby boy and dumped it into a pit latrine.

“But the suspect continued staying as if nothing has happened until when the community tipped the Police after suspecting foul play after seeing her with no child and that she was not pregnant,” said Chaomba.

He said the suspect confessed to have dumped the child into the pit latrine and Police demolished the pit latrine only to find the child already dead.

The suspect pleaded guilty to the charge of concealing birth of a child and Third Grade Magistrate Peter Mkuzi found her with a case to answer and consequently convicted her.

In his submission before sentence, Sergeant Chaomba asked the court to consider giving the suspect a stiffer sentence because “what she did is killing and a disgrace to all the women.”

In mitigation, the suspect asked for forgiveness saying she equally concerned with what she did but said she did this because of poverty.

“I ask this court for forgiveness because I killed my child because of poverty. I look after my elderly mother and my seven children and my first born is 12 years while my last born is one a year old. I shoulder all the responsibility of taking care of them because I don’t have a husband. The father of the child I dumped denied responsibility and escaped from the area. Please forgive me,” she said.

When asked to elaborate more on the children, she said she has never gone to the hospital for delivery and all the seven children were delivered at home.

Third Grade Magistrate Peter Mkuzi concurred with the Police but considering her mitigating factors, Mkuzi ordered her to pay a fine of K30, 000.00 but later suspended it and sentenced her to community service and ordered her to be sweeping at Nkhonde Full Primary School for five months.

He said the sentence he has given her does not mean that the case is not serious.

“This is serious and what she did is not a solution and asked her to look for best option like taking child spacing methods”.

He said the suspect deserved a custodial sentence and maximum sentence for concealing the birth of the child is 5 years imprisonment with hard labour but her mitigating factors are what have made him consider her for community service.

Daliya Alick comes from Mdenga village, Traditional Authority Amidu in the same district of Balaka.

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