A Harare based Zimbabwe Republic Police(ZRP) officer reportedly killed a baby while attempting to beat the child’s mother with a button stick on Monday in the capital, unverified social media sources say.

The out of control police officer is alleged to have struck the toddler who was strapped to his mother’s back with his truncheon. The baby who is reported to be 9-months-old is alleged to have died instantly, following injuries sustained in the attack

This is to have occurred on Monday, before the first day of the 30-day national lockdown which was imposed by the government in an attempt to curb the spread of the second wave of Covid-19.

The incident reportedly occurred along Second Street as the police officer was trying to disperse people from an illegal pick and drop point for Harare to Bindura commuters. No names have been made public yet.

A video is going viral on social media which shows the grieving mother holding the baby in one hand while holding the police officer in the other. The police officer appears to be trying to free himself from her grip, while a crowd has gathered, ostensibly to effect a citizen’s arrest on the overzealous police officer.

In two separate incidences, 6 minors were axed by their biological mothers following heated arguments with the children’s fathers. Some observers say thousands of Zimbabweans may be suffering from undiagnosed mental illnesses which make them unpredictable and prone to extreme violence against fellow citizens, friends and families.

There is also a spate of bizarre rituals like the killing of minors and harvesting of body parts which are sold for money making rituals in South Africa.

online sources