Woman arrested for abandoning newborn

Stella Siliva, a 24-year-old woman, has pleaded guilty to abandoning her newborn baby boy in a toilet at Matundu Primary School in Nsanje district.

Second Grade Magistrate Haneef Ngundende has found her guilty and will announce the sentencing tomorrow.

This morning, she appeared in court for her plea, during which State Prosecutor Gladstone Kanyezi presented the details of the case, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

It has been reported that she was impregnated by another man while keeping the pregnancy hidden. Her husband had reportedly gone to South Africa about four years ago in search of work.

She gave birth in the toilet of the school and subsequently abandoned the baby, who later died from aspiration pneumonia while being treated at Nsanje District Hospital.