A nurse from Ngondo, perhaps wanting to escape his responsibilities, strangled and killed his girlfriend’s baby during childbirth and dumped the body in a pit toilet.
High Court judge Justice Jaraniso Mawadzi who expressed shock at the cruel murder sent Ngonedzashe Mugabe to prison for 18 years.
Ngonedzashe pleaded not guilty but Judge Mudze found overwhelming evidence against him.
The state outlines that Mugabe and Diana Rose Mudzingwa (32) had an intimate relationship and Mudzingwa became pregnant. Mugabe enticed Mudzingwa to come and give birth at the Ngondo clinic where he worked.
When Mudzingwa, who remained in Waterfalls, Harare, went into labour, instead of Mugabe taking her to a clinic, he took her to a place he had rented. Mudzingwa found only the two of them in the room and Mugabe began practicing midwifery.
Mudzingwa, who was weak from labor pains, was shocked to see Mugabe suffocating the baby and stuffing his nose and mouth with cotton. He then plunged his head into a bucket, wrapped the body in a plastic bag and walked out.
Mugabe later dumped his body in a pit latrine. He then took a syringe from the clinic and injected Mudzingwa to prevent bleeding. The accident occurred on January 24, 2023.
As if nothing had happened, Mugabe then went straight to the clinic to do his homework.
The vulnerable Mudzingwa reported the matter at Ngundu police station which led to Mugabe’s arrest. He showed the police where he dumped the body.
Judge Mudzinga said an autopsy was not performed because the body was in a state of decomposition when it arrived at Masvingo Provincial Hospital, and he relied on Mudzingwa’s testimony and circumstantial evidence to reach his conclusion.
He described Mudzingwa as a credible witness while “Mugabe’s testimony and actions contradict his age and profession and cannot be true.”
Mugabe said he was only having a sexual relationship and there was no possibility of marrying Mudzingwa because he had a wife and five children. He also said she told him she had been having a sexual relationship with another man when she became pregnant.
He claimed he was confused and afraid of losing his job and family if it emerged that his girlfriend had given birth in his room.
“Judging by the role of the nurse and midwife, you know the importance of an autopsy. If you had informed the police, an autopsy would have been done and the cause of death known. You did not want an autopsy and this is consistent with foul play. There is no confusion. Your mind was clear to go And she takes an injection from the clinic illegally.
“What completely destroys your story is that you deny that there was a crime, but you agree that Mudzingwa accused you of killing her child. What did you do? You were supposed to inform the police who would investigate. Instead, you wrapped the body in a plastic bag and walked some distance,” Judge Masvingo said. Two kilometers and I threw the child away.”