Man kills 10-month-old child with beer bottle

A man who accused his wife of infidelity struck and killed his 10-month-old baby with an empty beer bottle in an attempt to hit the mother.

Wellington Sibanda (25), on Thursday appeared before resident magistrate Taurai Manwere for confirmation of charges over allegations that he killed his daughter - Shalom - with an empty beer bottle on October 14 last year.

It is the State's case that Sibanda arrived drunk at his home at Zedi Mine in Silobela at around 1800hrs and had a heated argument with his wife Aisha Khan accusing her of infidelity.

He then allegedly swung an empty beer bottle with the intention of hitting Khan but she dogded and the bottle landed on Shalom's head.

Sibanda rushed his daughter to Kwekwe General Hospital in his car but the baby died on admission at the hospital.

After the death, Sibanda is alleged to have fled his home for a few days before handing himself to the police and was formally charged.

In a warned and cautioned statement Sibanda admitted to having killed his daughter.

But he will have to go through a full trial under Zimbabwean laws.

In Zimbabwe, murder suspects are expected to mount a defence and if they cannot afford lawyers of their choice, the State appoints one for them.

A postmortem report showed that the baby suffered a skull fracture which was 6×6 cm.

Sibanda is currently out of custody on bail.