Police arrest Ugandan man in connection with illegal abortions in Limpopo
A man suspected of being part of an illegal abortion syndicate in Limpopo appeared briefly in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Richard Tjuuko, 43, was charged with contravention of both the Termination of Pregnancy Act and the Immigration Act.
The court told Tjuuko that a charge of contravening the Immigration Act was added after he failed to prove that he was in the country legally.
Tjuuko, originally from Uganda, was arrested on Tuesday after police and health department officials launched a crackdown on illegal abortion operators in and around Polokwane.
Speaking from the scene of the alleged culprit’s arrest, Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba expressed dissatisfaction and concern over the alarming rate of illegal abortions in the province.
Due to the level of brutality and maternal deaths related to illegal abortions, Ramathuba and mid-wives crisscrossed the Polokwane CBD and removed illegal abortion adverts from the street lamps.
During the operation, a woman was spotted handing out adverts and an undercover operative helped to track down Tjuuko to the nearby premises he was operating from.
The woman apparently worked for him.
However, the Ugandan denied conducting illegal operations despite having agreed with an undercover agent that he would terminate a pregnancy for R5,000.
Numerous streets in Polokwane have illegal abortion clinics which operate out of backyards and stuffy offices.
Tjuuko was remanded in custody until August 8 for a possible bail application.