News / National
Woman jailed for infanticide
04 May 2017 at 06:55hrs | Views
A Bulawayo woman has been jailed for infanticide and concealing the birth of a child.
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.
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.
Source - chronicle
