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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter 

NKULUMANE 5 residents stumbled upon a foetus which was wrapped in a plastic paper and stashed in a baby bathing basin at a dumpsite near Sekusile Shopping Centre.

Residents said the foetus was first spotted by women who were disposing of garbage and scavenging for recyclable material on Sunday. 

Mrs Sinqobile Sibindi from Nkulumane 5 yesterday told Chronicle that people quickly gathered at the area after the women who discovered the foetus informed neighbours. 

“When I went to where a crowd of people had gathered I was shocked to discover that it was a baby which had been aborted and dumped and I noticed that it was almost fully developed such that it was nearly at its full term.  “People are so heartless, I was really hurt. Why have a baby in the first place if you are going to kill it this way. Some people are childless and struggle to conceive while some will just kill a fully developed foetus,” said Mrs Sibindi. 

Some residents who had gathered at the scene said they suspected that the foetus may have been dumped by a school going teenager.

“Since schools just closed, maybe it’s one of the children who just came back home from the holidays. Children are naughty these days. She must have panicked and just decided to abort the child when the pregnancy had advanced to that stage,” said Nozithelo Nkomo, a resident. 

Some residents said teenagers contemplated abortion because families were harsh and stigmatised premarital pregnancy while others said economic hardships were driving up cases of termination of pregnancies. 

Police from Nkulumane attended the scene and took the body to United Bulawayo hospitals.  Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube could not be reached for comment.

In August last year, Bulawayo City Council workers stumbled upon a six month old foetus that was stashed in a plastic bag and hidden in rubble. 

The incident followed another in July, when a newborn was found alive wrapped in blankets in a plastic bag. The baby’s mouth was stuffed with stones to muffle cries. The newborn was rushed to Mpilo central hospital where after recovery she was handed over to the department of social welfare.  — @andile_tshuma.