14-Year-Old Bulawayo Girl Said She Kidnapped Toddler To Fool Boyfriend

The 14-year-old Form One girl accused of kidnapping two-year-old Asanda Charisma Ndlovu from a busy Bulawayo shopping centre on Tuesday has apologised for her actions.

Baby Asanda, snatched from Meikles Market on Tuesday, was found safe on Thursday at a business premises on the corner of Herbert Chitepo Street and 3rd Avenue.

The teenage suspect, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was shown to reporters on Friday with her face covered by a mask.

In a shocking confession, she told journalists that she staged the kidnapping to convince her 36-year-old boyfriend, known only as Mumba, that she had a child. The teenager said:

“Mumba asked me if I have a child, and I said yes. So he asked me to bring the baby. That’s when I went to Meikles.”

She said she entered the mall and approached a stall run by Nesisa Mpofu, the child’s mother, pretending to be a customer looking for a pillow, while Mpofu was at work with her baby. She said:

“When I got there, the baby was crying, and I lifted her. She stopped crying. She is a friendly baby.”

Police had initially been hunting for a male suspect after grainy CCTV footage showed a figure in jeans carrying the toddler.

The teenager said she hadn’t disguised herself, just pulled a hoodie over her head.

She told police she took the child to Mumba, her sister’s ex-boyfriend, planning to return the baby later.

However, she claimed Mumba told her to stay at his Trenance residence until Thursday morning, when she returned to the city centre with the toddler.

At a block of flats with several businesses, she asked a man in one office to look after the baby for a few minutes, saying the child’s father was across the street and would come to collect her.

The man later told police he was alarmed that a stranger would leave a toddler with him. He locked the teenager inside the office with another woman and rushed to Meikles Market to alert security. Police were called soon after.

The teenager, who lives with her mother in Rangemore, said the baby had been fed on rice, hot chips, and corn puff snacks during the two days she was missing. She said:

“I’m really sorry. I made a mistake. I’m asking for forgiveness.”

She is expected to appear before a juvenile court.

Meanwhile, Meikles Market management said they would be “implementing measures to strengthen safety protocols and ensure that incidents like this do not happen again.”

More: ZimLive