Young mother arrested for alleged murder of two-week-old baby boy

A 21-year-old woman from Ha-mutsha Tshirangadzi village in Limpopo was arrested on Wednesday morning in connection with the murder of her two-week-old baby boy, reports Polokwane Review.

It is alleged she killed her baby before she buried his body in a shallow grave.

The infant was last seen with his mother on Monday, a day after she reportedly took him to a local clinic.

On Tuesday, she was seen without the child and local residents became concerned and then confronted her on Wednesday morning.

During the confrontation, the residents asked her about the whereabouts of the infant. The situation escalated and they reportedly threatened to hurt her. Police were summoned and the woman was rescued from the angry crowd, said police spokesperson Motlafela Mojapleo.

During the initial investigations into the whereabouts of the infant, the accused told the police that she had taken her baby to a local clinic and then later to a local hospital after he became sick.

She further told the police that her child had died on Monday, and that she had thrown his body into the local river.

The Search and Rescue Unit was immediately summoned and a search of the area conducted.

However, the search was unsuccessful and only after investigations continued did the mother reveal that she had buried her child in a shallow grave and led the police to the spot, where she was immediately arrested, Mojapleo added.

The motive for this incident is not yet known and investigations continue. She will appear in the Vuwani Magistrate’s Court on Friday on a charge of murder.

Provincial police commissioner Lt Genl Nneke Ledwaba has warned the community to desist from taking the law into their own hands, and to give the police the necessary time and space to conduct investigations unhindered.

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