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. Sunday News
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