Zambezi shocked after woman exhumes baby’s remains

The family members of a woman (27) who exhumed her baby’s body in the Zambezi region on Saturday say they are still stunned by the incident.

The young mother from Liselo village dug up the corpse of her 10-month-old daughter, who died on 22 June.

Her older sister, Matondo Mushibabo, yesterday said her sister came home upset at around 15h00, saying her friends believe her baby died because she was an unfit mother.

Mushibabo said she tried to calm her sister by telling her not to worry about what her friends were saying.

“She then said she was going to dig up her baby to show them. I tried telling her not to do that, but she just left. I sent my husband after her to stop her, but he could not convince her either.

“Evening time, as I was coming out of my courtyard, I saw her coming towards me, telling me ‘here is my baby’. I thought it was a joke, but I went closer to look at what she was carrying, only to see it was really her baby. “I ran back and told my husband that she went and dug out the baby. I was really shocked,” she said.

Mushibabo said her husband alerted her parents, who called the police.

“The police came and took her. They gave us the baby, and we reburied her on Sunday. As for my sister, she is fine and has not said much after the whole ordeal,” she said. Regional police spokesperson inspector Kisco Sitali says no case was opened against the woman, and she was referred for psychiatric support.

“We released her after a 24-hour psychiatric hold and advised the family to seek further counselling for her,” he said.

Liselo community court headman Patrick Matongo says the community is shocked by the incident.

He advised the youth to seek advice from elders or the community courts if they have problems.

“The youth should speak to us about their problems, so we see how we can help them. If we are unable to help them, then we will help them take up their issues with social workers.

“We are going to have a community meeting to sensitise them about these issues and for them to seek help if they need it,” he said.

Zambezi Regional Pastors Forum chairperson Benjamin Limbo says the act was influenced by “evil spirits”.

He, however, added that it’s a clear sign of a lack of emotional healing and societal support.

“Sometimes we should spend time with bereaved families, not just rushing from the graveyard, going our separate ways. There should be a system of making sure people who lose their loved ones are emotionally supported for some time so they can accept it and move on,” he says.

Psychologist Ceaseria Mutau says the loss of a child is traumatising and could lead to persistent symptoms, such as overwhelming guilt, anxiety, and emotional numbness. She says it could also trigger post-partum depression.

“This is an emergency psychiatric condition that affects a person’s sense of reality, causing hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, or other changes in behaviour.

“The hallucinations and delusions may have driven her to such an act. It seems as though there was no early detection, and untreated post-partum psychosis can get worse quickly and lead to dangerous, irrational behaviour such as this.

“Therefore, one requires immediate hospitalisation and treatment,” Mutua says.