News / Regional
Dogs eat newborn baby
15 Sep 2014 at 06:36hrs | Views
A 24-YEAR-OLD woman from Mangwe District gave birth prematurely and dumped her newborn baby alive in a bush after its father denied responsibility.
The baby was later found being eaten by dogs.
Adolfina Tshuma of Bulu area went on to conceal the incident out of fear of her father, Moses Tshuma, who is a village head.
Adolfina kept her pregnancy a secret from her family for eight months and they only discovered when the police took her for questioning.
The alleged offence was discovered by boys who found dogs feasting on the baby's body while they were herding cattle.
Councillor Norman Tshuma said the incident occurred in Bulu area under Mphoengs.
"I received a report on the issue of a baby's body that was found dumped within my ward.
The police had gone to the area to investigate the issue but I did not go there myself. What I heard is that this woman is a daughter of one of the village heads in our area but I am not aware as to which one," said Tshuma.
A police source said Adolfina was arrested after police had questioned villagers from the area.
"The baby's body was later discovered by a group of boys who were herding their cattle. They noticed that their dogs were feasting on some meat and they moved closer and found that the dogs were feasting on a baby's body that was hidden under leaves.
"We questioned villagers who pointed out Adolfina was pregnant but suddenly her pregnancy had disappeared. She denied the allegations at first but we later learnt that she gave birth when she was eight months pregnant and she dumped the baby," said the source.
He said only the head and ribs of the baby were recovered.
"We are still investigating the case but Adolfina has been arrested and she will be appearing in court. Preliminary investigations have shown that the accused person could have dumped the baby while alive as she did not bother to inform anyone about the incident.
"Her relatives that were questioned indicated that they did not know the whereabouts of the baby as Adolfina had not told them where the baby was," he said.
The prosecution revealed that Adolfina who was set to appear in court last week will be advised of her new court day by way of summons as police were still carrying out investigations.
The baby was later found being eaten by dogs.
Adolfina Tshuma of Bulu area went on to conceal the incident out of fear of her father, Moses Tshuma, who is a village head.
Adolfina kept her pregnancy a secret from her family for eight months and they only discovered when the police took her for questioning.
The alleged offence was discovered by boys who found dogs feasting on the baby's body while they were herding cattle.
Councillor Norman Tshuma said the incident occurred in Bulu area under Mphoengs.
"I received a report on the issue of a baby's body that was found dumped within my ward.
The police had gone to the area to investigate the issue but I did not go there myself. What I heard is that this woman is a daughter of one of the village heads in our area but I am not aware as to which one," said Tshuma.
A police source said Adolfina was arrested after police had questioned villagers from the area.
"The baby's body was later discovered by a group of boys who were herding their cattle. They noticed that their dogs were feasting on some meat and they moved closer and found that the dogs were feasting on a baby's body that was hidden under leaves.
"We questioned villagers who pointed out Adolfina was pregnant but suddenly her pregnancy had disappeared. She denied the allegations at first but we later learnt that she gave birth when she was eight months pregnant and she dumped the baby," said the source.
He said only the head and ribs of the baby were recovered.
"We are still investigating the case but Adolfina has been arrested and she will be appearing in court. Preliminary investigations have shown that the accused person could have dumped the baby while alive as she did not bother to inform anyone about the incident.
"Her relatives that were questioned indicated that they did not know the whereabouts of the baby as Adolfina had not told them where the baby was," he said.
The prosecution revealed that Adolfina who was set to appear in court last week will be advised of her new court day by way of summons as police were still carrying out investigations.
Source - chronicle
