CHINHOYI — A 19-year-old Zvimba woman who gave birth to a baby boy before taking it to a garden where she buried it alive has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for infanticide.
Own Correspondent
However, magistrate Fanny Nyakudya last week wholly suspended the jail term on condition Talent Mungofa performs 310 hours of community service at Mashonganyika Primary School.
The court heard that on October 20 last year, Mungofa of Gandiwa village under Chief Zvimba, who was nine months pregnant, gave birth to a baby boy while alone and never told anyone.
The following day at around 4pm, she took the new-born baby to the family garden, placed it in a shallow pit and covered it with soil. The baby died of suffocation.
It was also heard that sometime in December 2012, Mungofa’s father Luke (40) heard rumours that his daughter had concealed a pregnancy and he confronted her.
After failing to get a confession from his daughter, Luke informed police who interrogated her until she confessed that she killed her baby.
She led investigating officers to the scene where she had buried the baby.
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The remains were found leading to her immediate arrest.
In mitigation, Mungofa said she was under a lot of stress and feared her father would assault her for delivering another “fatherless” child.
Authur Bosha prosecuted.
