It is widely believed that the birth of a child symbolizes a new beginning and blessings from God but it appears that this very sentiment is not shared by everyone. 23-year-old Rhumbudzai Nhemachena was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment after she tried to dispose of her baby after giving birth prematurely.
The Zimbabwe national appeared at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 3 February after being arrested for concealment of birth. “On 15 March 2019 police received information about a woman who tried to hide the birth of her baby in Mayfair. We were alerted by the owner of the house about her domestic worker’s suspicious behaviour”, explains SAPS Captain Xoli Mbele.
Nhemachena is said to have entered the bathroom and opened the tap for a full 2 hours prompting her employer to investigate. Upon opening the door she discovered a foetus inside a bucket Nhemachena was standing over. The police were alerted immediately and an arrest was carried out.
Investigating officer detective Lindiwe Mbatha of the Johannesburg Central SAPS was commended for the diligence focused on the case. The harsh sentence was delivered in the hope of scaring away would be offenders from committing the same crime.
