‘Mantoetse Maama

MASERU — An orphaned 16-year-old girl from Ha Matala will miss school to become a mother after she was impregnated by her foster brother.
Police said the minor who is still at primary school in Maseru was impregnated by her 20-year-old brother.
“The girl is now three months pregnant,” said police inspector ‘Mamookho Hlabana in an interview on Friday.
The two are both orphaned and are being looked after by a foster mother since January this year.
Hlabana said the matter came to light recently after police received a report from villagers that the teenager was pregnant and her mother wanted her to terminate it.
However the mother has denied the allegations and said she had arranged a meeting today with relatives of the two to discuss the issue.
Hlabana said the mother did not report the incident to the police “because she was thinking maybe the children might get married”.
“She said she was expecting that they would get married since they are expecting a baby,” she said.
The guardian later told police she would report back to them after today’s meeting what the relatives would have agreed on.
The man has admitted to impregnating his minor sister.
According to the police the two told their mother that they had sex when she had gone to a funeral a few months back.
Police spokesperson Masupha Masupha said it is against the law for a 16-year-old girl to get married.
“It is against the law for a child under the age of 18 to get married. It is also a crime to have sexual intercourse with such minors as they cannot make decisions before the law,” Masupha said.