Young girl born to South African mother in Mauritius prison to be united with relatives
The little girl's mother is awaiting trial in Port Louis after being arrested for drug trafficking in 2019.
Picture: Pexels
CAPE TOWN - A five-year-old girl who has been living in a Mauritius prison since birth is set to be united with her South African family on home soil on Friday.
The little girl's mother is awaiting trial in Port Louis after being arrested for drug trafficking in 2019.
The Department of Social Development said the girl would become the 25th child repatriated to South Africa from another country since 2015.
Department of Social Development officials who traveled to Mauritius this week to fetch the little girl described an emotional farewell as the mother and daughter hugged and kissed at the gates of Beau Bassin Prison.
"She also expressed her regret for placing herself in such a difficult position, where she would not be able to see her child grow within the foreseeable future while her case is being finalised," spokesperson for the department, Bathembu Futshane, said.
Futshane said as she left the prison gates, other South African women incarcerated at the prison stood in a guard of honour to wish the little girl farewell.
The delegation will touch down in South Africa on Friday evening to hand the girl over to her grandmother.