Sanyati couple drowns wife’s 9 month old baby

Zim Now Writer

Police yesterday (Saturdayy) arrested a Sanyati couple on allegations of murdering the woman’s 9-month old baby from a previous relationship.

“On 19/11/22, ZRP Sanyati acted on a tip-off and arrested Pelagia Jakaza, 19, and her husband, Bonface Mberengwa, 23, for a case of murder in which they allegedly conspired to kill Pelagia Jakaza’s nine-month-old child sired from a previous relationship by drowning the victim,” the police said in a statement.

The couple allegedly drowned the baby in a bucket then buried the corpse in a shallow grave on an anthill in Mapfuti Village, Sanyati.

The alleged crime took place on November 9, 2022.

Police say that they confiscated the bucket in which the child was drowned in and exhumed the body.

File Image of police officers removing a corpse from a crime scene.

Some years back Zimbabwe experience a wave of matricide as women killed their children from previous relationships because their current partners were not willing to father the offspring of another man.

A chinhoyi woman was recently arrested for killing her new born baby then stashing its body in a bucket and covering it with stones.

https://zimbabwenow.co.zw/articles/1230/tip-off-exposes-chinhoyi-infant-killer-mother

In a different case the police, yesterday found the remains of a human foetus at Stodart Dumpsite in Mbare and are appealing to members of the public with information to contact the nearest police station.

Reports of dumped infants and foetuses are being recorded frequently.

Abortions are illegal in Zimbabwe except in special cases whereby legal authorisation is required.

https://zimbabwenow.co.zw/articles/1126/police-red-flag-baby-dumping-as-cases-are-recorded-weekly

Police in Norton are investigating the murder of Norton man, aged 29, whose body was discovered in a pool of blood with three stab wounds in Garikai.