Despite Mugabe’s plea of not guilty, the overwhelming evidence presented during the trial led Justice Mawadze to deliver a stern sentence. On Friday, March 15, Mugabe was found guilty and sentenced to 18 years behind bars.

Prosecutors revealed that Mugabe and Diana Rose Mudzingwa (32) of Waterfalls, Harare were in an intimate relationship, and Mudzingwa was pregnant.

Mugabe, who worked at Ngundu Clinic, lured Mudzingwa to give birth there after she fell into labour. However, instead of taking her to the clinic, he led her to a rented location.

In a horrifying turn of events, Mudzingwa, in the throes of labour pain, witnessed Mugabe’s cruel actions. The nurse strangled the newborn, stuffed its nose and mouth with cotton, and then drowned it headfirst in a bucket. Mugabe callously wrapped the lifeless body in a plastic bag and left the room.

Mugabe later disposed of the tiny body in a pit latrine. Callously, Mugabe proceeded to inject Mudzingwa to stop her bleeding and resumed his duties at the clinic as if nothing had happened. The incident happened on January 24, 2023.

Mudzingwa reported the matter at Ngundu Police Station leading to Mugabe’s arrest. He was taken for indications and he showed the Police where he had dumped the body.

Justice Mawadze said there was no postmortem because the body was in a state of decomposition when it reached Masvingo Provincial Hospital and he relied on Mudzingwa’s testimony and circumstantial evidence to reach his conclusion.

In a candid admission, Mugabe clarified that his relationship with Mudzingwa was purely sexual, devoid of any marriage prospects due to his existing commitment to his wife and five children.

Furthermore, Mugabe said Mudzingwa had candidly revealed her involvement in a sexual relationship with another man when she became pregnant.

Mugabe claimed that his subsequent actions were driven by a conflicted state of mind, fueled by the fear of jeopardizing his job and family. The revelation that his girlfriend had given birth in his room weighed heavily on him, leading to his confusion and apprehension.

Delivering the judgement, Justice Mawadze emphasized Mugabe’s betrayal of his professional duties as a nurse and the gravity of his actions. He condemned Mugabe’s deceitful behaviour and disregard for human life. He said:

Judging by the role of a nurse and a midwife you know the importance of a postmortem. If you had alerted the Police a postmortem would have been conducted and the cause of death known.

You didn’t want a postmortem and that is consistent with foul play. There is no confusion. You had the clarity of mind to go and illegally take an injection from the clinic.

What destroys your story is that you are denying that there was foul play but you are agreeing that Mudzingwa accused you of killing her child.

What did you do? You were supposed to report to the Police who would investigate. Instead, you nicodemusly wrapped the body in a plastic bag and walked two kilometres and dumped the baby.

More: Pindula News