Johannesburg - A 29-year-old woman who allegedly murdered her newborn baby boy by submerging him in boiling water just after she gave birth has abandoned her bail application.
Wendy Tapiwa Kamwoto, a Zimbabwean who is a domestic worker in Hartebeespoort, appeared on Friday before the Brits Magistrate’s Court where she faced a murder charge.
She abandoned her bail application and will remain behind bars until her next court appearance on May 14.
Allegations are that Kamwoto gave birth at her home in Sunway in Rietfontein, Hartbeesportdam, on March 12. She was alone at the time.
It is further alleged that she placed the newborn in boiling water, wrapped him with a plastic bag and buried him in a shallow grave at a nearby field.
From there, she is alleged to have confided to a friend what she had done and that the reason was because she didn’t want a baby.
Unable to keep such a secret, the friend alerted the police.
Colonel Amanda Funani of the North West Police said officers then went to the Kamwoto’s place of residence.
“She pointed the police to where the baby’s body was buried in a shallow grave. The suspect was arrested and charged with murder,” she said.
The North West police commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, applauded Kamwoto’s friend for speaking out and working with the police in ensuring that she was arrested “for this horrendous crime”.
Kwena also said community members must keep on co-operating with the police in order to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable in society.
IOL