Ongwediva
Police in Omusati Region are investigating a case of concealment of birth after a 21-year-old allegedly wrapped her newborn in jeans and covered it with stones.
The incident occurred at 04h30 on Tuesday morning at Onashiku village in Elim constituency, and the suspect was arrested the same day. She is currently being detained at Onandjamba Police Station in Okalongo.
The suspect is a learner at Ashipala Secondary School in Omusati Region.
The police spokesperson in Omusati Region, Warrant-Officer Lineekela Shikongo, confirmed the incident.
The suspect reportedly woke up in the morning and left home to go to a nearby dilapidated building where she secretly gave birth.
The suspect claims the baby was born dead.
According to Shikongo, a post-mortem will tell whether the baby was born dead or alive.
“She allegedly folded the baby in the jeans she was wearing and covered the baby with stones and left for home,” related Shikongo.
Around six in the morning, her fellow housemates saw blood when they wanted to bath and to get ready for school.
They (housemates) informed their guardian who questioned the suspect and later called the police.
The suspect was treated at Oshikuku Roman Catholic Hospital on Tuesday and was discharged thereafter.
The suspect was expected to appear in the Oshakati Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
In a separate incident, a 25-year-old security guard was also arrested and charged with murder and concealment of birth.
The guard gave birth to a baby girl and tied her neck with a rope before she put her in a plastic bag and threw her in a pit latrine.
Fellow colleagues alerted the police after discovering their colleague was no longer pregnant and she did not have a baby either.
Shikongo advised young women to use protection or to abstain until such a time they are ready to be parents.