Anna Machaya’s Baby Dies
The baby of Anna Machaya, the girl who died at the age of 14 while giving birth at a Johane Marange Apostolic Church Shrine in Mafararikwa, is dead.
Contrary to reports claiming that Anna left behind a baby boy, the infant died on the same day his mother passed away.
Alice Mabika, Anna’s aunt who exposed her niece’s death last year in July, first announced the child’s death on her WhatsApp status last Saturday before she confirmed the development in a telephone interview with The Manica Post. She said:
It is true that Anna’s son died on the day his mother passed on. The coincidence left us devastated.
We are still to gather more details regarding the child’s death as the Machayas were away attending the church’s annual Passover gathering in Mafararikwa.
We heard that the child was in the custody of Anna’s aunt at their Kwekwe plot when he died.
We are not privy to details on the cause of his death as well as his burial as the Machayas are yet to furnish us with them.
What hurts most is that we wanted to celebrate the baby’s first birthday, only to receive the news of his death.
We do not know the whereabouts of the child’s father since his release from remand prison last year.
The baby’s father, Hatirarame Evans Momberume (27), was arrested and charged with murder and having a sexual relationship with a minor.
He, however, absconded after being granted $50 000 bail by the Mutare High Court.
As a result, Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Richard Ramaboa, issued a warrant of arrest for Momberume following his failure to appear in court.
Momberume’s lawyer, Brian Majamanda of Khupe and Jara Law Chambers, said he last spoke to his client last year in September when he informed him about the bail and his next court date.
Meanwhile, Anna’s parents, Edmore Machaya and Shy Mabika are facing charges of obstructing or defeating the course of justice.
The couple allegedly lied about the girl’s age and identity and gave the investigation officers someone else’s identity card.
They told the police that Anna was born on January 2, 1999, and the mother went on to give the investigators a national identity card belonging to a relative, Memory Machaya.
However, the police managed to obtain the late Anna’s correct birth certificate copies and also established that Memory Machaya was alive and married to Lameck Makonye.
More: The Manica Post
