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Residents of Mzuzu's Chibanja Township had the shock of their life on Saturday when they discovered a dead eight-month-old baby girl in a pit latrine.
A resident of the township, Lucy Mkandawire, said in an interview on Sunday the dead body was found in a latrine near her house following a search by residents around the area who smelt a rat from the strong odour of the decomposing body.
“There was an unusual bad smell from the latrine. We checked what was in it and got the shock of our life when we discovered it was a baby. We reported the matter to Mzuzu police. We later dug the latrine and removed the baby,” said Mkandawire.
She said people in the area did some investigations and discovered that a 20-year-old girl who had a baby no longer had it.
“We informed the police about our suspicions. They arrested her and she confessed having dumped her baby in the toilet alive because she would not be able to raise it as her boyfriend refused responsibility for the baby.
Head of Criminal Investigations at Mzuzu Police Station Justin Mkute confirmed the arrest of 20-year-old Tapiwa Kumwenda from Mzalangwe Village in Inkosi ya Makosi Mmbelwa’s area in Mzimba for being suspected to have thrown her baby in the latrine.
“The baby has since been decently buried and the suspect will be charged accordingly and be brought before a court of justice,” said Mkute.
Four months ago, in the same Chibanja area, a dog was found eating a newly-born baby. A month later a man working as a watchman found a baby dumped along the road. It was taken to Mzuzu Central Hospital and its mother has not yet been traced.
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