Man strangles infant daughter, chews off her face

Zim Now Writer

In a bizarre incident, a 25-year-old man from Tsholotsho reportedly went berserk, strangling his 16-month-old baby and hanging her body on the rafters of the house before chews off part of the baby’s face.

Neighbours had to wrest body of the baby from the father, Mongameli Nkomo, who was biting off chunks of flesh from the face of the body and chewing them. He has since been arrested and there are suspicions that he is not mentally stable.

Nkomo, from Masekela Line under Chief Gampu, allegedly strangled the baby with his bare hands.

Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda confirmed the incident saying the man was in police custody while investigations were underway.

“I can confirm that a man from Tsholotsho killed his biological daughter over unclear circumstances. The man was arrested and investigations are still in progress. Nkomo is said to have arrived home at night on the day in question.

“He woke up his wife, Nokulunga Mhlanga, claiming that he was being chased by goblins. He started praying and told his wife to be strong. Nkomo later held his wife’s hand and bit her right finger and left arm. The wife jumped off the bed while holding their baby but Nkomo snatched the baby from her,” said Insp Banda.

According to police, Nkomo’s wife went outside the house screaming for help and neighbours came to the scene, proceeding into the house where they found Nkomo that had killed his daughter and had bitten off the body’s face, exposing the victim’s teeth.

They had to use force to take away the baby’s body from Nkomo and tied his hands.

Insp Banda said the body of the baby was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem. Chief Gampu, in confirming the incident, described it as shocking.

“I am pained by the incident. How can one kill his own child like that? What does a 16-month-old baby know and besides, no one deserves to be killed. I was called in the middle of the night, and I went to attend to the matter only to find out that a man had killed his daughter and had already eaten part of the child’s chin.

“When I arrived at the scene, I called the police who acted swiftly and arrested the father. He obviously has to be examined to check his mental state. He had never had any such problems before, but I am tempted to think something went wrong with him mentally,” said the chief.