Cheating wife suffocates her newborn baby to conceal affair

A Plumtree woman (24) connived with her boyfriend (26) and allegedly killed their newly born baby in an effort to conceal their illicit affair, police said yesterday.

The Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tafanana Dzirutwe, said the incident occurred on Wednesday at Hlalani Kuhle houses in Plumtree town.

"The woman, Memory Gumbo, whose husband is serving a jail term, had an illicit affair with her boyfriend, Titus Kokerai, which resulted in her falling pregnant.

On the fateful day, the woman experienced labour pains and she then approached her boyfriend and the two hatched a plan to kill the baby," said Insp Dzirutwe.

"Soon after giving birth, Gumbo and Kokerai stashed the newly born baby boy in a plastic bag before they put it into a suitcase, resulting in the infant suffocating."

Gumbo was, however, later approached by a local woman who quizzed her over her pregnancy and she told the woman that she had a miscarriage.

The woman became suspicious and she then reported the matter to the police leading to Gumbo's arrest. She then implicated Kokerai.

Insp Dzirutwe said the two would appear in court soon facing infanticide charges.

The body was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem.