Oshakati
The police in Ondangwa have opened a case of murder and concealment of birth against a 19-year-old teenager.
The regional commander of Oshana Region, Commissioner Rauha Amwele, said the suspect gave birth to a boy on Sunday.
Amwele said police were alerted to the incident when the suspect’s relatives reported at about 19h00 on Sunday that she was pregnant and gave birth but the baby was nowhere to be found.
According to the commissioner, the suspect gave birth at home in Omashaka village in Ondangwa constituency.
“The suspect dropped the baby in a pit latrine and the baby died. The relatives noticed that she was not pregnant anymore. We arrested the suspect yesterday and she has since been admitted to Onandjokwe hopital,” Amwele continued.
Amwele stated the police dismantled the pit toilet and found the baby’s corpse wrapped in a mealie meal bag.
According to the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), about 40 babies and foetuses are dumped or flushed down toilets every month in Windhoek.
In 2010, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report on children and adolescents in Namibia said 13 dead babies are found every month at the sewage works in Windhoek, though countrywide figures were unavailable.
However, the issue of baby dumping has become a common phenomenon in the northern regions of Namibia as well. This case is among others that have been reported in the past two weeks.