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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
A 23-year-old police recruit undergoing training at ZRP Morris Depot allegedly terminated a five-months pregnancy in a bid to avoid being fired from the force.
Perseverance Matanda reportedly committed the offence after spending four months at the depot, which means she joined the police force when she was already one month pregnant.
The code of conduct does not allow recruits to get pregnant while on training and the police do not recruit pregnant women.
Matanda appeared before magistrate Mr Milton Serima last Friday charged with unlawful termination of pregnancy.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges despite having confessed to the matron at the training depot that she used some herbs called Jerusalem to terminate the pregnancy.
Matanda, who is from Chipinge, was granted $40 bail and will be back in court on November 17.
Prosecutor Miss Sharon Mashavira alleged that on October 24, a matron at ZRP Morris training depot received information that Matanda was pregnant.
She then interrogated Matanda who denied the allegations.
Further investigations into the matter were conducted and a pregnancy test was ordered and the results came out positive.
Matanda, the court heard, was then taken to ZRP Morris Depot camp hospital where a scan was done.
The scan confirmed that Matanda was pregnant, though there was no foetus in her womb.
According to the State, Matanda was interviewed and revealed that she had used some herbs called Jerusalem to abort.
She allegedly confessed to the matron that she had secretly disposed of the foetus at an undisclosed place in a bid to conceal the crime.
Online Reporter