File
Two women appeared in an Eastern Cape court for allegedly trafficking an infant.
The National Prosecuting Authority said the infant’s mother, 22-year-old Yamkela Nkotha, and 30-year-old sex worker, Brenda Simoko, appeared in the Cala Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said Nkotha was arrested on 22 October after the father of her 11-days-old baby girl reported the child missing.
Simoko, a Zimbabwean national, was arrested in Kempston Park in Gauteng over the weekend by the Hawks, where the “missing infant was rescued from a room which Simoko used for her prostitution activities.”
Tyali said police investigations indicated that Simoko “bought” the child from Nkotha for “an unknown amount”, after she allegedly told her boyfriend that the child had died and had been buried.
“She failed to show him the grave and that prompted the father to approach the police,” he said.
Simoko is also facing a separate charge of being in the country illegally.
Tyali said the case against the two women was postponed to 2 November for a formal bail application.
