A 33-year-old Mutorashanga woman gave birth to a bouncing baby boy before allegedly dug a shallow pit in which she buried him alive.
Margaret Musarapasi of Plot 12 Chihamba, Mutorashanga this Thursday appeared before Chinhoyi magistrate Tendai Banda facing one count of infanticide.
She was remanded in custody to 1 March 2021 for plea recording after the defence requested more time to peruse the docket.
The State case led by Tendai Tapi is that on 5 February this year at around 11 pm, a heavily pregnant Musarapasi, who was alone at her homestead, gave birth to a baby boy.
The following morning at around 5 am she allegedly took the new-born infant to a nearby bush where she dug a shallow pit and buried it alive.
The incident came to light when an alert neighbouring village health worker, Yeukai Mushamba, got suspicious of Musarapasi, who was bleeding from her genitals and complaining of an undisclosed illness.
Upon being quizzed what had happened to her pregnancy, Musarapasi allegedly confessed to delivering a baby boy the previous night, before shoving him in a pit the next day that she covered with soil and left him to die.
The matter was reported at Mutorashanga Police Station who attended the scene and exhumed the remains, leading to accused person’s arrest.
A post-mortem report compiled by a government medical officer, Hardlife Zambezi confirmed the child died of “asphyxia (suffocation) after being buried alive
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