Woman drowns baby after argument with husband
A 25-YEAR-OLD woman of Choma has been arrested for allegedly drowning her eight-month-old baby in a stream after an argument with her husband.
In the Choma case, the woman, Molivia Sikabbubba, of Mwapona Township, has been charged with infanticide.
Southern Province police commanding officer Auxensio Daka confirmed the incident yesterday.
Mr Daka said the suspect packed out of her matrimonial house on September 25, 2023 with her son after a marital dispute.
The woman’s whereabouts were not known until on Sunday, October 1, when her husband, Cain Moono, found her at her uncle’s house but without the child.
Mr Daka said the suspect was later questioned by her uncle on the baby’s whereabouts but she was speechless.
“This prompted her uncle, together with her husband, to take her to Choma Police Station, where she confessed to having thrown her son in the stream, on the way to her village, for no apparent reason,” he said.
Mr Daka said the woman confessed to drowning her child on September 25 around 14:00 hours.
“It was realised that the child in question was the one who was reported to have been found floating in a stream in Fundabanyama village in Chief Cooma’s chiefdom between September 27 and 29, 2023,” he said.
Mr Daka said police, together with the Fire Brigade, retrieved the body of the baby boy from the shallow stream.
He said the body was inspected but no physical injuries were seen.
However, the body was somewhat decomposed with the skin peeling off due to exposure to sunlight.
Mr Daka said the body was discovered by Auditor Maila, 44, who took cattle to the stream.
He said the body was later taken to Choma General Hospital mortuary.
Credit: Zambia Daily Mail