A 27-year-old Zimbabwean woman was arrested by South African police for allegedly killing her newborn baby before concealing the body in an empty stand at Ratsaka village in the Morebeng area of Limpopo Province.
In a statement yesterday, the South African provincial police spokesperson for Limpopo, Lieutenant Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the incident occurred last Thursday.
He said the suspect is facing a charge of concealment of birth. The suspect whose name police could not release will soon appear at the Morebeng Magistrate Court.
“The South African Police Service in Morebeng arrested a 27-year-old suspect for a case of concealment of birth after the body of a newborn baby boy was found at an empty stand at Ratsaka village on Thursday, 15 June 2023 at around 4 pm,” he said.
Police were notified about the incident and upon arrival with the emergency personnel, they found the newborn baby in the unoccupied yard and he was certified dead at the scene.
“Our officers got a tip-off about and upon arrival at the scene together with the emergency services personnel, they found the body of the newborn baby lying on the ground near the suspect’s place of residence,” said Lt Col Ledwaba.
“From our investigations, we established that the suspect is a Zimbabwean woman aged 27 and she was arrested. She will appear in court facing charges of concealment of birth and infanticide.”
Limpopo provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe applauded the members for managing to track down the suspect leading to her arrest.
In 2021, another 29-year-old Zimbabwean woman was arrested for drowning her newly-born baby girl in a 20-liter bucket of boiling water in South Africa.
Before committing the crime, Wendy Tapiwa Chipo of Rietfonten in Gauteng province allegedly tried to abort the pregnancy without success.
It is alleged that Chipo then submerged the baby in a 20-liter bucket of boiling water before shoving the body in a plastic bag.
She ganged up with a friend to bury the body in a nearby bush.
In 2019, a 30-year-old Zimbabwean woman was left grieving when her newborn baby fell to his death at Mamelodi Hospital, east of Pretoria after nurses allegedly refused to help her while giving birth.
