A Zvishavane woman killed her seven-month-old baby by feeding her milk laced with rat poison.
Court records indicate that the tragic incident happened in Mandava, Zvishavane, on 2 March 2023.
The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPA) said Felistas Mpofu was aged 19 when she committed the offence after she left her rural home in Mberengwa.
“That morning she laced milk with rat poison and fed it to her seven-month-old daughter using a feeding bottle.
“Having no place to sleep, she approached a Good Samaritan in Mandava, seeking overnight accommodation,” said NPA.
After being provided with accommodation, the baby is said to have cried all night. The following morning a decision was made to take the infant to the hospital.
“The baby later died at Zvishavane General Hospital, and the matter was initially reported as a “sudden death” pending investigations,” said NPA.
The matter came to light when the Good Samaritan noted a smell in Mpofu’s bags.
“She then discovered the feeding bottle containing milk with a strong chemical odour, which she handed over to the police.
“A postmortem conducted at United Bulawayo Hospitals subsequently confirmed that the child died from ingestion of a toxic substance,” NPA.
In her mitigation, Mpofu insisted that she was young and had no means to take care of the baby.
“Taking into account her youthfulness, her difficult circumstances, and apparent lack of criminal record, the High Court sitting at Gweru sentenced her to seven years in prison.”
