Pietermaritzburg – The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday sentenced a 22-year-old woman to 25 years imprisonment for strangling an 18-year-old mother to death and presenting the mother’s child as her own, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

Samkelisiwe Zandile Shange, 22, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping, spokesperson Nqobile Gwala said in a statement.

Gwala said Shange had suffered a miscarriage and wanted to present the 18-year-old’s baby to her boyfriend as their child.

She was arrested in July 2016 after family members received information that Shange was involved in the 18-year-old’s disappearance in KwaNyuswa, roughly 50km from Port Shepstone.

The accused was taken to the police station, together with the six-month-old baby. She then led the police to the bushes where she had dumped the 18-year-old’s body, Gwala said.

The baby had been taken to a place of safety shortly after the arrest.

Gwala said the young mother was strangled to death by Shange before she took the baby.

Acting Provincial Commissioner Bheki Langa praised the officials involved in ensuring Shange’s sentence.

“Women of Shange’s calibre do not deserve to be within the community because of her inhuman behaviour and the trauma she posed on the baby, leaving her an orphan,” he said in a statement.