Teenage moms aged between 10 and 19 give birth to 10% of babies in South Africa

• A shocking statistic has revealed that over 100 000 births recorded in South Africa were born to teenage moms
• What was particularly disturbing was that children as young as ten were giving birth
• 688 births recorded by Home Affairs revealed that the moms were only 10-years-old

JOHANNESBURG - A shocking statistic has revealed that teenagers give birth to 10% of babies in South Africa.

Reports of mothers as young as 10 and as old as 19 are giving birth to approximately 100 000 babies a year.

However, the current figures may not be accurate due to the effect of lockdown on Home Affairs. 9.2% fewer births were registered within the 30 days of giving birth and in correlation, there has been an increase in late registrations.

Melokuhle has been the most popular name given to both boys and girls according to TimesLIVE.

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IOL reported that of the 34 587 births registered, the mothers were 17 years and younger. Most shocking of all was that 688 births were registered to girls as young as 10.

EC mother arrested for trying to sell newborn twins to feed drug addiction

Earlier, Briefly News reported that an Eastern Cape mother was arrested after attempting to sell her five-day-old twin daughters. The mother was arrested in Kariega. Yolisa Mgolodela, Hawks spokesperson, stated that the babies had been found with the 'buyer' in Kariega. The arrest happened on Thursday, 3 June.

Mgolodela stated that they received information about a possible human trafficking incident after the mother was reportedly looking for a buyer for her twins. Mgolodela said that they followed up on the information received. By the time they tracked her down, she had already given the babies to a prospective buyer.

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The mother, along with two other suspects, is expected to appear in court on Monday. The suspects will be appearing on charges of human trafficking.

Drugs taking over

In other crimes related to drugs, Briefly News reported that a suspect had been arrested after being found with 800kg of compressed pure cocaine with an estimated street value of R400 million. The 39-year-old was allegedly driving a bakkie that was towing a ski boat.

Hidden substances

The 12-foot ski boat was stopped by police after they received a tip-off. The drugs were found in the boat while it was being searched. The arrest happened on the N1 north near the R21 Flying Saucer Interchange in Pretoria.

The team

A multi-disciplinary team was made up of the Pretoria Serious Organised Crime unit, South African Narcotic Enforcement Bureau, Tactical Operations Management Section of the Hawks and the Crime Intelligence Head Office.

Source: Briefly News