Mother arrested after death of disabled baby
A Limpopo mother has been arrested, pending postmortem results, after the death of her 10-month-old daughter.
Police spokesperson Col Malesela Ledwaba said the baby was found buried in a shallow grave at her Giyani home.
The 29-year-old woman, a landlady, left her house to visit her boyfriend on Saturday after her tenants questioned her about the whereabouts of one of her children who had suddenly disappeared.
“They became suspicious and on Monday, they looked around the yard and noticed a shallow grave. Community members gathered at her house in her absentia and police were notified. They immediately followed the leads and traced the woman.
“She was taken to her house, where she pointed out a shallow grave in which she buried her daughter.”
When questioned, the mother said the little girl, who had a disability, had died after an illness.
She told police she had buried the child by herself as she did not have a birth certificate.
A post-mortem to determine the cause of death of the child is still to be conducted.
The woman was arrested on charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear before the Giyani magistrate’s court on Thursday.
TimesLIVE
