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‘Dumped’ woman jailed for killing son

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A 26-YEAR-OLD Sanyati woman, Naome Mutenje, was last week slapped with a 20-year effective jail term for killing her 20-month-old son because she could not afford his upkeep after being dumped by her husband.

A 26-YEAR-OLD Sanyati woman, Naome Mutenje, was last week slapped with a 20-year effective jail term for killing her 20-month-old son because she could not afford his upkeep after being dumped by her husband.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Mutenje, who has two other children, told High Court judge Justice Clement Phiri that she killed her son, Nicole Muchohonyi, who was aged a year and eight months, on September 18, 2013, after the toddler’s father denied responsibility.

Mutenje, who throughout the trial shed what the court described as “crocodile tears”, is said to have stuffed the toddler’s mouth with her panties, wrapped a white cloth around the child’s mouth after which she struck him on the head and fractured his skull in the process.

Upon being asked, by prosecutor Albert Masamha why she decided to solve her problems by killing the child, Mutenje said she did not know what possessed her on the day in question.

Justice Phiri also repeated the same question, saying he wanted to understand why Mutenje chose to kill the toddler instead of her two others, to which she answered: “I cannot explain, but I had developed hatred of the child’s father and the child being a product of an irresponsible man, I decided otherwise.”

On the day in question and under the cover of darkness, the court heard, Mutenje, who was employed as a cook, left her place of work and proceeded home where she woke up her child and took him to a secluded area near Sanyati Rural District Council clinic.

While at the scene, she stuffed her red panties into the now-deceased’s mouth and tied him with a white cloth on the face after which she struck him with a blunt object on the head, causing internal injuries from which he later died and she disappeared into the darkness.

As if nothing had happened, Mutenje proceeded to Patchway Mine in Kadoma where she stayed with her relatives, who apparently were not aware she had given birth to a child whom she had killed.

On September 22, the toddler’s body was found by a passer-by in the bush and a report was made to the police who carried out investigations, leading to Mutenje’s arrest.