A 47-YEAR-OLD man of Mansa will spend 28 years in jail for attempting to barter his son for a boat and fishing nets worth K6,800. And the Mansa High Court has ordered the detention of a 16-year-old girl who sold her child at K1,000 plus a mobile phone. Sitting in Mansa, Ndola High Court Judge Yvonne Chembe sentenced John Chishimba to 28 years imprisonment with hard labour after he pleaded guilty to attempting to exchange his son with fishing equipment. Justice Chembe found it aggravating for Chishimba to attempt to sell his own son, who is supposed to look up to him for protection.

“The mandatory minimum sentence is 25 years imprisonment. I accordingly sentence you to 28 years imprisonment with hard labour,” she said. This is in a case Chishimba was charged with human trafficking. On May 28 last year in Chienge district, Luapula Province, Chishimba intentionally and unlawfully tried to traffick his 13-yearold son to a businessman from whom he demanded a boat and fishing nets as payment. At the police station, Chishimba told the officers that he wanted to sell his son because he had suffered a lot and needed to earn a living by venturing into fishing business. Meanwhile, the court has ordered that the 16-year-old girl who sold her one-month-old baby at K1,000 and a phone be detained at Insakwe Approved School in Ndola for reformation.

On December 5 last year, while acting with other unknown people, the girl trafficked her daughter from Samfya to Mansa. Delivering judgment, Justice Chembe said the juvenile offender should undergo training at an approved school where she will be detained until management is satisfied that she has reformed and gained necessary skills for her future. “It is hereby order that the juvenile whose religion appears to be Christian be detained at Insakwe Approved School in Ndola,” Justice Chembe said.