⚠️😭🔪 “‘Just for $1,100’: The Heartbreaking Case of a Mother Who Sold Her Little Girl for a Ritual That Defies Imagination”

The village of Kanyama, normally known for its open-air markets and the hum of daily life, now stands frozen under a cloud of horror.

Mother who sold 6-year-old daughter for $1,000 to traditional healer is  convicted in South Africa - CBS News

Local authorities say 32-year-old Miriam N, a mother of two, sold her 6-year-old daughter to a witch doctor for $1,100.

The alleged deal was as specific as it was chilling: the girl’s eyes and patches of her skin were to be used in a “prosperity ritual” — a practice rooted in dark superstition and whispered about for generations.

Investigators were first tipped off when a neighbor noticed the child’s sudden absence.

According to police reports, Miriam told friends that her daughter had gone to stay with relatives in another district.

But whispers began after she was seen meeting with a man known locally as “Doctor Salima,” a traditional healer whose reputation was marred by rumors of ritualistic practices.

What police uncovered in the following days defied comprehension.

The transaction, authorities allege, took place in cash — a thick wad of crumpled bills handed over in a dimly lit back room.

Witnesses claim they overheard discussions about “removing the most powerful parts” of the child’s body while she was still alive to ensure the ritual’s potency.

South African mother found guilty of trafficking 6-year-old daughter |  REUTERS
Thankfully, the girl was found alive — but only just.

Rescuers located her in a locked storage hut on the outskirts of town, dehydrated, malnourished, and deeply traumatized.

Medical reports confirm she had sustained injuries to her face and arms consistent with the initial stages of mutilation.

She is now under the care of child protection services and receiving urgent psychological support.

The arrest of Miriam sent shockwaves through the community.

At the police station, she appeared detached, avoiding eye contact and speaking in short, flat responses.

When asked why she did it, one officer recalled her chilling reply: “It was an opportunity.

I needed the money.

” Authorities believe she may have also been influenced by promises from the witch doctor of wealth and good fortune, a lure that has tragically ensnared desperate individuals before.

Joshlin Smith sentencing: Tears and heartbreak over tragic story of South  African girl sold by her mother - BBC News

As for Salima, he was captured two days later during a dawn raid on his compound.

Inside, police reported finding ceremonial tools, jars containing preserved animal parts, and a bloodstained table believed to have been used in previous rituals.

He now faces multiple charges including conspiracy to commit murder, human trafficking, and practicing prohibited witchcraft.

The case has ignited a fierce debate in Zambia and beyond about the persistence of ritual killings and the exploitation of vulnerable people through superstition.

Activists argue that such acts are not relics of the past but active dangers in communities where poverty and fear create fertile ground for manipulation.

For those closest to the victim, the betrayal cuts deeper than the crime itself.

One relative, speaking anonymously, said: “She trusted her mother more than anyone.

She used to hide behind her legs when strangers came.

And now we know it was her mother who gave her to a stranger to be hurt.

Joshlin Smith sentencing: Tears and heartbreak over tragic story of South  African girl sold by her mother

The child’s recovery will be long, marked by both physical healing and the slow rebuilding of trust.

For now, she is said to be speaking only in whispers, refusing to mention her mother at all.

What remains perhaps the most haunting element of the case is the price: $1,100.

That’s all it took to turn a mother’s love into a transaction, a little girl’s future into a bargaining chip, and a community’s sense of safety into a lingering, unshakable fear.