A DESPERATE pregnant woman from Bulawayo’s Mpopoma suburb reportedly paid a herbalist $150 to insert pepper and sticks into her private parts in an abortion exercise.
Two days later, Pamela Ncube (27) conceived a baby whom she dumped at a stream between Mpopoma and Matshobana.
Unfortunately, Ncube’s partner in crime failed to keep the secret as she spilled the beans leading to the accused’s arrest.
The court heard that sometime in September, Ncube accompanied by her friend Nokuthula Ncube, proceeded to Makokoba market popularly known as Emkambo.
They approached a certain unidentified woman with intentions of terminating Ncube’s pregnancy and she referred them to Sophie Maphosa.
Maphosa took Ncube and Nokuthula to her home where she used her bedroom as a backyard clinic inserting sticks and pepper in her private parts to terminate the pregnancy.
After two days, Ncube started experiencing labour pains and was helped by Servy Ncube to deliver.
The baby is said to have died a few minutes after birth leading to the two wrapping it in a sheet of cloth and dumped it in a bag.
Ncube threatened Servy with unspecified action if she ever told anyone about what had transpired.
Servy Ncube failed to keep the matter to herself and after two weeks she reported the matter to police leading to the arrest of Ncube and Maphosa.
The dumped baby’s body was found still intact at the stream.
Magistrate Themba Chimiso remanded Ncube and Maphosa out of custody to 14 October as they await post-mortem results.