Scavengers stumble on body of newborn at dump site

A GROUP of scavengers stumbled on a body of a new born baby hidden among rubbish that had been disposed by employees of the Plumtree Town Council sanitation gang at the Plumtree dump site.

The baby, wrapped in a jersey is suspected to have been hidden in garbage that was collected by the gang from an unidentified house in Mathendele area.

Matabeleland South acting provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant Nkosilathi Mkhwananzi confirmed the incident which occurred last weekend.

He said no arrests had been made but appealed to members of the public who had information on the incident to come forward.

"The body of a new born baby was discovered at the Plumtree dump site among refuse that had been disposed by the council sanitation gang. The baby was wrapped in a jersey and stashed in the rubbish.

"We are still carrying out investigations but we are appealing to anyone with information that could help us in identifying the suspect to convey it to the Plumtree Police Station," he said.

A member of the sanitation gang who preferred anonymity said they collected refuse from several houses in Mathendele area but did not notice the baby's body.

He said they disposed of the refuse and left the dump site.

He said they were alerted by some scavengers who remained behind searching for valuables among the rubbish.

"We offloaded the garbage at the dump site and then left and scavengers started exploring the refuse. When we went back a few minutes later they alerted us that they had discovered the body of a new born baby in the rubbish that we had just disposed.

"We had collected the refuse at only one suburb which is Mathendele area in Plumtree and the suspect is probably residing at one of the houses there," he said.

The council sanitation gang member said the body of the baby was still fresh which suggested that it had just died.

He said they alerted the police who attended the scene.

Residents from the area where the garbage containing the baby is suspected to have been collected expressed shock and appealed to the police to apprehend the culprit.

A resident from Plumtree, Mrs Khethiwe Mguni said Mathendele suburb was a small suburb and police could identify the culprit with the assistance of residents.

"The person who killed this baby is heartless and does not deserve to be living within the community as they are a danger. Our suburb is quite small and if police conduct a thorough search I am sure they can catch the culprit in no time, unless the person just dumped the baby but is not from our area," she said.