Harare, Zimbabwe – A sixteen-year-old mother and her mother have been arrested and charged with human trafficking after selling the teenager’s nine-month-old baby for a paltry US$180. The case, which unfolded in Harare, highlights the disturbing reality of illegal adoptions and the callous exploitation of vulnerable individuals within this shadowy underworld.
The teenager, whose name has been withheld but who used the alias Nobuhle Sibanda in the transaction, and her mother, Evelyn Zisengwe, conspired with Dion Tore, a suspected dealer in illegal adoptions, to sell the infant. The trio appeared in court yesterday facing human trafficking charges and were remanded in custody until Thursday for bail application.
The court heard that the plot began in January. Sibanda and Zisengwe allegedly connected with Tore via a WhatsApp group called “Sora ne Miti.” Zisengwe reportedly informed Tore that her daughter was pregnant and intended to have an abortion. Tore, claiming a history of miscarriages, expressed a desire to adopt the child.
Subsequently, Tore contacted the pregnant teenager, and they arranged a meeting on February 22nd. Tore facilitated an ultrasound scan, confirming the pregnancy was seven months and three weeks along and that the baby was a girl.
The trio then allegedly colluded with an unnamed nurse at Sally Mugabe Hospital to induce premature labour. Tore provided falsified personal details to Harare Hospital officials, posing as the expectant mother.
Sibanda gave birth prematurely on February 25th, and on March 5th, she handed the baby over to Tore at Harare Hospital. To cover their tracks, Tore fabricated a fake death certificate, claiming Sibanda’s baby had died shortly after birth.
Between May and August, Zisengwe received a total of US$180 from Tore, transferred via Ecocash. The trio’s arrest followed a tip-off to police in Murehwa.
