Couple secretly buries baby in a riverbank

A 31-YEAR-OLD woman and her 25-year-old lover buried the body of their stillborn baby in a riverbank, in a bid to protect themselves from being bewitched by their neighbours.

Simorden Sibanda and Mthulisi Tshuma of Mzila Village in Mphoengs, appeared before Plumtree magistrate Mr Livard Philemon, facing a charge of concealment of birth.

Sibanda told the court that she feared notifying people of her misfortune as she assumed they would dig up her baby's body and use it for witchcraft purposes.

"There is a lot of witchcraft in our area. After giving birth to a stillborn I told my boyfriend and we agreed to dig a hole and bury the body. We thought if we alerted people, after burying the baby they might dig it up and use it for witchcraft purposes.

"We saw it best to get rid of the body by dumping it where no one would ever find out. Despite making these efforts, when the police took us to the scene the body was no longer there. I assume that maybe someone had discovered the remains already," she said.

Her boyfriend, however, denied having helped her to dispose of the body. He told the court that his girlfriend did not tell him that she had given birth.

Prosecuting, Mr Stanley Chinyanganya said the two accused persons buried the baby on 16 August.

"On 16 August around 4am Sibanda gave birth to a still-born baby and advised her boyfriend. On the same day around 9am they proceeded to a river where they dug a hole and concealed the baby inside and they did not inform anyone," he said.

The matter came to light after the woman's neighbour realised that Sibanda was no longer pregnant. She questioned her but the accused person refused to tell her the truth. The neighbour alerted the police who questioned her until she confessed to burying the baby.

Plumtree magistrate Mr Livard Philemon remanded the pair out of custody to 18 August for continuation of trial.