It had to take neighbours to wrest the lifeless body of the
baby from the blood-drooling father who was biting off chunks of flesh from the
face of the body and chewing them. He has since been arrested and speculation
is rife that he has a mental condition.
The man, Mongameli Nkomo, (25) from Masekela Line under
Chief Gampu allegedly strangled the baby with his hands. Matabeleland North
police spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda confirmed the incident saying the man
was in police custody while investigations were underway.
“I can confirm that a man from Tsholotsho killed his
biological daughter over unclear circumstances. The man was arrested and
investigations are still in progress. Nkomo is said to have arrived home at
night on the day in question.
He woke up his wife Nokulunga Mhlanga claiming that he was
being chased by goblins. He started praying and told his wife to be strong.
Nkomo later held his wife’s hand and bit her right finger and left arm. The
wife jumped off the bed while holding their baby but Nkomo snatched the baby
from her,” said Insp Banda.
Police said Nkomo’s wife went outside the house screaming
for help and that is when neighbours came to the scene. The neighbours
proceeded into the house and found Nkomo having killed his daughter and bitten
the body’s face, exposing the victim’s teeth. Neighbours had to use force to
take away the deceased from Nkomo.
They later subdued him and tied his hands. Insp Banda said
the body of the baby was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for a
post-mortem. Chief Gampu also confirmed the incident which he described as
shocking.
“I am pained by the incident. How can one kill his own
child like that? What does a 16 month-old baby know and besides, no one
deserves to be killed. I was called in the middle of the night and I went to
attend to the matter only to find out that a man had killed his daughter and
had already eaten part of the child’s chin.
When I arrived at the scene I called the police who acted
swiftly and arrested the father. He obviously has to be examined to check his
mental state. He had never had any such problems before but I am tempted to
think something went wrong with him mentally,” said the Chief.
A villager Mr Edwin Ndlovu said they were still in shock
over the incident.
“It’s sad that an innocent soul has been lost just like
that. The father never showed any signs of mental problems, he was a good man.
I do not know what got into him which led him to kill his child.
We heard noise, people screaming and I armed myself with a
stick thinking that there was an invasion at my neighbours home only to hear
that Nkomo had killed his child and eaten part of the chin, leaving the small
teeth exposed,” said Mr Ndlovu. Sunday News
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