WICKEDNESS-Woman kills baby fathered by 15-year-old schoolboy

A 24-year-old Chiredzi Zimbabwe woman has been jailed for 12 months for killing a newly-born baby she had with her 15-year-old schoolboy lover. Vimbai Mahembe of Village 3 in Chipimbi communal lands strangled the baby to death and buried it in a shallow grave because she was embarrassed to face her relatives after being impregnated by her Form 3 lover from the same village.



Mahembe pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying she killed the newly born baby because the father could not look after it since he was still at school. Chiredzi magistrate Mr Thomas Ndokera had initially sentenced Mahembe to three years, but conditionally suspended two years after convicting her for infanticide on her own plea of guilty.

Prosecutor Mr Liberty Hove said on 17 April this year at around 7 pm Mahembe gave birth to a baby boy in her bedroom hut. After giving birth, she strangled the newly born to death and wrapped the body with a cloth before putting it in a bucket and sneaked out to the family garden, a few metres away.

At the garden, Mahembe dug a shallow pit and buried the infant inside before returning to her bedroom hut. Mahembe's sister-in-law became suspicious after she saw blood all over the floor inside the hut.

She repeatedly quizzed Mahembe who admitted to have given birth to a baby boy and killing him since the father could not look after him as he was still attending secondary school. A report was made to police at Chipimbi base leading to Mahembe's arrest.