Woman from eMbalenhle who allegedly poisoned her baby is denied bail

The Evander Magistrate’s Court denied Martha Mthimunye from eMbalenhle bail on January 22.

Mthimunye is accused of poisoning her 10-month-old baby and herself with rat poison early in December. She was arrested on December 11.

It is alleged that Mthimunye, who is the mother of four children, prepared porridge in which she allegedly put rat poison before feeding the baby and herself.

She later rushed the baby to the clinic where the infant was declared dead. Mthimunye was then also rushed to the Evander Hospital after she fell ill.

Mthimunye was charged with murder after her baby was examined and certified dead at the clinic.

When delivering the court judgement on Mthimunye’s bail application, the magistrate said there were no exceptional circumstances brought forward by Mthimunye and her State-appointed attorney for the court to grant her bail.

The magistrate said she was a danger to herself and her other children because she also attempted to take her own life using rat poison.

She allegedly did this because of her financial problems.

The magistrate said since Mthimunye was arrested, her children are being taken care of by their grandmother.

According to the magistrate, the court also considered and prioritised the children’s act when delivering the judgement because children are protected by the constitution.

Mthimunye’s case was postponed to February 15 for further investigation.