Lusaka Maid Pleads Guilty To Child Stealing

Rachael Banda, the 21-year-old Lusaka maid who allegedly stole her employer’s six-month-old baby, has pleaded guilty in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court.

Banda was arrested in Kitwe after vanishing with the baby for days and was charged with child stealing.She is now appearing in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court for the subject offence.

Allegations are that Banda, on December 14, 2019, with intent to deprive Brenda Hakanema, who had lawful care or charge of her baby Luyando Mwanza, a child under the age of 16, she fraudulently took possession of such a child.

Appearing before magistrate Faides Hamaundu, Banda admitted to stealing the baby. When asked by magistrate Hamaundu why she got the baby, Banda said she did that because she wanted a child of her own.

Magistrate Hamaundu recorded a plea of guilty and adjourned the case to January 7 for facts and possible sentencing.

Banda was apprehended by alert traders at Kitwe’s Chisokone market after a week as she went from one restaurant to another asking for food for her and the stolen baby, police confirmed.