EDWIN MOYO
ZVISHAVANE-While some women go out of their way to conceive, Odeta Nyakabawo (23) allegedly had the audacity to kill her newly born baby and bury the body in a shallow pit. This happened on 29 December 2023 at about 1700 hours at Village Mabhara, Chief Mapanzure in Zvishavane.
Allegations are that, Odeta Nyakabawo who was pregnant and employed as a house maid in Village Mabhara, under Chief Mapanzure, Zvishavane informed her workmate, Thembisani Ndlovu (27) that she was having labour pains, while seated in the kitchen.
She went on to give birth to a live baby girl at around 1730 hours and was seen taking the baby, wrapped in a blanket, to her bedroom.
It is alleged that at around 1800 hours on the same day, she suffocated the baby to death by covering her with a blanket. When it was dark she put the body in a plastic bag and buried it in a shallow pit, five hundred metres from the homestead.
On 30 December 2023 at around 0600 hours, Thembisani Ndlovu asked Odeta the whereabouts of the baby and she confessed that she killed the baby and buried it.
Midlands Provincial Police Spokesperson, Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed the incident saying baby nursing issues require professional health care.
ZRP Zvishavane attended the scene and Odeta was arrested. The infant’s body was taken to Zvishavane District Hospital and investigations are under way. “Mothers who encounter challenges associated with nursing newly born babies are encouraged to seek help from health professionals.” Said Mahoko.
