A 24-year-old Bulawayo woman has been arrested after a newborn was found abandoned in a neighbour’s vegetable garden and later died in hospital.
Police identified the suspect as Priviledge Ncube of Nkulumane 5. She is alleged to have given birth at home in the early hours of Sunday before wrapping the infant and dumping him in a nearby yard.
The baby boy was discovered around 3pm after a resident heard faint cries. “I thought it was a puppy,” a neighbour said. “I was shocked to find a newborn covered with leaves and soil.”
The infant was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital, where he later died.
Police say information from residents led to the suspect, who allegedly admitted to giving birth and abandoning the child.
Neighbours reported hearing her in distress overnight but were told she had stomach pains. The man believed to be her partner said he was unaware she was pregnant.
Ncube is expected to appear in court facing charges of concealing a birth and exposing an infant.
