Woman kidnaps four-month-old child

Sharon Chimenya, Masvingo Correspondent
IN a movie-like incident, a woman from Tarusenga Village in Zaka, Masvingo is on the run after she allegedly kidnapped and disappeared with a four-month-old baby of a fellow villager.

The woman, Tariro Mahokorasa (30) allegedly has been an admirer of the baby and used to visit the mother of the child almost daily to play with the kid before the latest incident. Masvingo provincial police spokesman Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said the incident happened on Monday last week and efforts were being made to locate the woman and the baby.

“Since the birth of the baby four months ago, Mahokorasa has been going to play with the baby at the mother’s homestead. On 4 October around 9am she came and took the baby and said that she was going to a local bus stop and would be back quickly but she did not come back since then,” he said.

Insp Dhewa said at around 1pm on the same day, she was seen by another villager with the baby strapped on her back and walking with an unidentified man whom she introduced to the villager as her husband and the father of the baby whom she now claimed as hers. The villager however, did not suspect anything as she was not yet abreast with the incident.

“After realising that Mahokorasa had taken long to come back, the mother tried calling her but she did not pick up the phone until the number was no longer reachable. The mother reported that case to police in Zaka.

“Efforts are being made to reunite the baby with its mother and we are appealing to the members of the public who might have information that might assist to report to the nearest police station,” he said.