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Tanaka Mrewa / Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporters
TWO women, one from Bulawayo and the other one from Mangwe, have been jailed for infanticide and concealing the birth of a child.

The first woman, Mazobuta Ncube (36) from Bulawayo’s Entumbane suburb strangled her two-day-old baby on April 5 and buried the body in a maize field.

Ncube gave birth to a baby boy at Mpilo Central Hospital’s maternity ward on April 3.

She was discharged from hospital on April 5 and proceeded to Cowdray Park suburb where her sister, Ms Sibusisiwe Ncube, lives. The woman, who was employed as a maid, subsequently killed her baby and buried the body in a maize field.

Ncube pleaded guilty to an infanticide charge.

Western commonage magistrate Mr Lungile Ncube sentenced her to an effective 12 months in prison.

He expressed disbelief over Ncube’s horrific conduct.

“Where did you get the courage to execute something so gruesome? Why didn’t you at least approach orphanages or children’s homes if you felt like you had no means to raise the child?” he asked.

Ncube told the court that her baby’s father disappeared and she had no means to look after the child.

“His father abandoned me Your Worship. I had nowhere to raise the child from. I was employed as a maid and my employer couldn’t accommodate my child at my work place. I only knew where one of his relatives lived but the person had since moved. It never crossed my mind that I could get assistance from children’s institutions,” she said.

Prosecuting, Mr Mufaro Mageza said when Ncube returned home, she told her sister that she had left the baby with the child’s aunt. Her suspicious sister reported the matter to the police and when interrogated Ncube confessed to killing her baby.

Meanwhile, a 21-year-old Mangwe woman will spend the next two months in prison after she gave birth to a still born baby and dumped the body in a neighbour’s field.

Gracious Ncube of Nxele area was convicted on her own plea of guilty to concealing birth of a child by Plumtree magistrate, Mr Joshua Mawere.

She was fined $100 or sentenced to two months imprisonment in case of default. Gracious, who did not have the money to pay the fine, was sent to prison to serve the jail term.

Prosecuting, Mr Elisha Mazorodze said Gracious gave birth to a still born baby on April 14 at around 11PM and did not inform anyone.

“On 14 April, Gracious gave birth to a still born baby while she was at her employer’s homestead where she works as a domestic worker but didn’t inform anyone. The following morning at around 5AM she took the body to a nearby field and dumped it there and covered it with leaves. The owner of the field, Ms Oglet Ncube later found the body on the same day while she was working in the fields,” said Mr Mazorodze.

He said Ms Ncube approached her neighbour, Ms Joyce Dube and informed her about the body.

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