Story by Ropafadzo Mangome
A 43-year-old woman from Hurungwe, Angela Madzvimbo, has been found guilty and convicted of concealing the birth of twins. She reportedly gave birth alone and secretly buried the infants near her homestead, raising suspicions among villagers who noticed she was no longer heavily pregnant.
In a statement this Monday ,the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said she left her homestead claiming she was searching for mushroom in a nearby bush when she allegedly gave birth to twins and buried them without reporting the births to authorities, leading to their discovery.
“She later returned at around 1400 hours no longer pregnant. Upon inquiry by the village head and community members, the offender admitted that she had given birth to stillborn twins and had buried the bodies close to her homestead without reporting the matter to any medical or law enforcement authority. The infants’ bodies were exhumed and taken to hospital for post-mortem,”the statement read.
Section 106(1) and (2) of Criminal Law Act chapter [9:23] makes concealing birth a criminal offence.
According to the Act, a person is guilty of concealing the birth of a child if they dispose of the body of a child with the intent to conceal the fact of its birth, whether the child died before, during, or after birth.
