A 27-year-old Zimbabwean woman has been arrested by South African police for allegedly killing her newborn baby and dumping the body in an empty yard.
The woman, whose name has not been released, gave birth secretly at her home in Ratsaka Village, Limpopo province last Thursday. She then allegedly strangled the baby boy and concealed his body in an empty plot nearby, according to police.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said a tip-off led officers to the scene where they discovered the body of the newborn in the yard near the woman’s residence. Investigations revealed the woman is a 27-year-old Zimbabwean migrant.
The woman has been charged with concealment of birth and infanticide. She is expected to appear in the Morebeng Magistrate’s Court.
The shocking crime comes after a similar case last year where another 29-year-old Zimbabwean woman in South Africa was arrested for killing her newborn daughter.
In that case, Wendy Chipo from Gauteng reportedly tried to abort the pregnancy unsuccesfully before allegedly drowning the baby girl in 20 litres of boiling water and burying the body.
Infanticide cases often involve young, unmarried women who give birth in secret. The women then panic and kill their newborn babies out of shame or inability to care for them. But such heinous crimes always end with justice, and this latest suspect faces a stern court hearing for allegedly strangling her own son.
