630 hours of community service for baby dumping

A Mutare woman was yesterday slapped with 630 hours community service for dumping her newly born baby in a bushy area in Sakubva high density suburb.

Georgina Mazikana pleaded guilty to the charge of exposing an infant as defined in Section 108 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

Mutare magistrate, Waini Makamera had initially slapped Mazikana with a 24-month prison term, but six were suspended on condition that she does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

The remaining 18 months were suspended on condition that she completes 630 hours of community service at Zhaware Primary School in Marange.

Charges against Mazikana are that on May 7 in the morning, her sister Tsverukai Mazikana received information from vendors at Sakubva Musika that the accused was pregnant and was almost due for delivery.

The vendors said they were no longer seeing the pregnancy or her baby. Tsverukai made some efforts to get the truth, but Mazikana was not forthcoming prompting her to forcibly take her sister to Sakubva Police Station.

Police interrogated Mazikana until she admitted that she had given birth to a bouncing baby boy and dumped the infant in a bushy area in Chitungo area, Sakubva.

She confessed that she covered him in a sack before dumping the child adding that the child was still alive. Police escorted the accused and managed to retrieve the baby.

The child was rushed to Mutare Provincial Hospital for a medical examination as Mazikana was arrested for exposing the child.

The State submitted that Mazikana had no right to act in the manner that she did. Makamera took a swipe at the behaviour of Mazikana saying she should feel ashamed of her actions.

Makamera urged Mazikana to take good care of the child.

Cuthbert Bhosha prosecuted.