mbulelo smpofu
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
A 39-year-old woman from Pumula South suburb in Bulawayo recently shared her harrowing story that led her to kidnap a two-day-old baby from Mpilo Central Hospital in September last year.
The incident, which rattled the community, led to the arrest of Anita Khumalo who was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.
She is incarcerated at Mlondolozi Female Prison, a part of Khami Maximum Prison where she is serving her sentence.
Sunday News caught up with Khumalo during the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Family Week recently, where she narrated her story.
She cited the misfortune of a miscarriage, desperate efforts to save her marriage as well as pressure from her in-laws, as the major factors that drove her to commit the crime.
That, she said, saw her orchestrate a well-calculated and tactical plan to kidnap the two-day-old baby from a then 18-year-old mother.
“I think most people read my story in the social media. I am the one who kidnapped a two-day-old baby at Mpilo Hospital. Due to the pressure of keeping my marriage as well as that of my in-laws, I ended up taking the illegal route and kidnapping a baby.
“I had been pregnant and was due to give birth around 9 September 2023 (according to the scan) and unfortunately I suffered a miscarriage in June. Little did I know my in-laws observed that but I kept on faking that I was pregnant and it was easier to do so, as my husband was away in South Africa,” she said.
As the predicted days of delivery drew closer, Khumalo said she endured various pressures, both from her in-laws as well as her marriage. She said, she suspected that her husband was about to move on with another woman because she had failed to deliver a child for him.
“After the miscarriage, I had pressure from my in-laws and I thought my husband was about to move on with some lady I strongly suspected. As such, on 10 September, I went to Mpilo Hospital and hatched a plan to steal a baby from one of the mothers who had delivered the day before.
“I met a girl at the hospital who I initially assisted with transport before I came up with a plan to steal her baby. I ditched her in the Central Business District and took the child home in Ntabazinduna where I was staying. Immediately, my in-laws suspected that it was not my baby leading to my arrest,” said Khumalo.
After her conviction and sentence, upon admission to Mlondolozi Female Prison, one third of her sentence was remitted and she was left with two years and eight months.
“I have so far served one year three months and I am left with a year and five months. To anyone who needs a baby, please do things the right way. There are legal ways of adopting a baby, there is no need for people to find themselves in my situation right now, whereby you are separated from your children and start life afresh.
“As I am speaking, I am sure my husband and the woman I was trying to prevent from being with him, are actually together now. You lose a lot in life and regardless of what you can learn in prison, you lose a lot in life. I lost my job, I have never seen my three kids from my previous marriage and I do not even know the state of my house in Pumula South,” said Khumalo.
Khumalo, however, expressed gratitude towards her family, which has supported her through visits and providing necessities while behind bars. — @nyeve14
daniel chigunwe
