Niël Terblanché
The Namibian Police detained a 24-year-old woman in Swakopmund on Thursday evening in connection with the death of a three-month-old baby.
Ashley Mudimu, a Zimbabwean national, was wanted by the police following the discovery of her baby’s body, buried in a shallow grave near the naval base in Walvis Bay last week.
She was arrested by undercover police officers, from whom she requested a lift to either Otjiwarongo or Windhoek, as she did not have money to pay for the journey.
She was subsequently taken into custody.
Mudimu’s apprehension came shortly after this appeal by the authorities to the public for any information on Mudimu’s whereabouts.
According to Chief Inspector Ileni Shapumba, the head of the police in the Erongo region’s community affairs division, the initial investigation suggests that the infant may have been killed before being buried.
The events unfolded when Mudimu’s boyfriend, also a Zimbabwean national, reportedly left her at their residence with the baby on Wednesday morning around 10:00.
Upon returning an hour later, he found the home empty and could not locate either Mudimu or the child.
He later reported their disappearance to the Tutaleni Police Station on Thursday after searching for them.
The baby’s father positively identified his daughter’s remains and a post-mortem examination is pending to determine the exact cause of death.
Shapumba said the police await forensic confirmation to register a case of murder.
In addition to the investigation into the baby’s death, Mudimu’s boyfriend was also taken into custody over possible infringements of Namibian immigration laws, as authorities scrutinise his legal residency status.
Shapumba said that the Police will continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.
