Zimbabwe: High Court Upholds Infanticide Conviction After Magistrates Clash Over Contradictory Records

The High Court has confirmed the conviction and sentence of a 41-year-old woman for infanticide after resolving contradictions that had led a Regional Magistrate to question whether the case ought to have been treated as concealment of birth.

Justice Moses Foroma delivered the review judgment in the case of Annie Ferenando after the accused pleaded guilty to contravening Section 48 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23].

Ferenando gave birth to a baby boy on November 23, 2024, but left the child unwrapped, resulting in his death from exposure.

She later threw the infant's body into a blair toilet pit.

"I left him unwrapped and then he got cold," she told the trial court. Asked if she admitted that death would result, she responded: "Yes... The child died."

The trial magistrate sentenced her to 12 months in prison, of which four were suspended for good behaviour. The remaining eight months were wholly suspended on condition she performed 280 hours of community service at Sunge Police Station.

However, during routine scrutiny, the Regional Magistrate raised concerns over inconsistencies between the charge sheet and the state outline.

The charge sheet stated the child had been left "unwrapped," while the outline erroneously recorded that the baby had been "wrapped."

He also highlighted that the post-mortem listed the cause of death as "indeterminate," questioning whether the child had been born alive.

"I am of the view that it is not clear if she gave birth to a live baby and hence should have been charged with concealment," the Regional Magistrate wrote in referring the case for review.

Foroma, however, found that the contradiction stemmed from a clerical omission -- the word "not" had been dropped in the state outline.

"Had the scrutinising Magistrate... read in between the lines, the reason for the contradiction... would have become apparent," he ruled.

The High Court further held that the accused's mental state and circumstances -- central to the charge of infanticide under Section 48(3) -- were canvassed adequately during sentencing.

Foroma concluded: "It is clear that the proceedings under review were conducted in a manner that resulted in real and substantial justice being achieved. I confirm that the proceedings were conducted in a manner that ensured the achievement of real and substantial justice."

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.