By Parrot Newspaper 
Mother Strangles Baby, Blames Absent Father
Harare, Zimbabwe – June 4, 2025 | Parrot Newspaper (ISSN 3092-8435)
A quiet farming community in Seafield Estate Village, Nyamandlovu, Zimbabwe, has been shaken by the arrest of a 29-year-old woman accused of killing her 19-month-old daughter in what police are now treating as a deliberate act of homicide driven by desperation.
The suspect, Simangaliso Dube, was taken into custody on May 30 following forensic revelations that upended initial assumptions about the child’s death. The infant, Shylet Sibanda, was originally thought to have died suddenly and without apparent cause on May 28. However, a forensic autopsy later revealed signs of mechanical asphyxiation, a clear indication of strangulation.
This triggered a full-scale criminal investigation by authorities in Matabeleland North Province, who have since confirmed that Dube confessed to the act during interrogation.
> “The suspect expressed that persistent financial pressures and lack of paternal support became unbearable, leading to this tragic outcome,” a police source close to the investigation told Parrot Newspaper.
Mother Strangles Baby
According to law enforcement officials, Dube cited severe financial hardship and emotional exhaustion, worsened by the alleged abandonment by the child’s father. Investigators say she painted a grim picture of struggling to care for her daughter in the absence of any meaningful support, both emotionally and economically.
Preliminary findings suggest that Dube had attempted to seek assistance from the child’s father repeatedly, but was met with silence or indifference. Sources within the investigation told Parrot Newspaper that the father had “consistently failed to contribute to the child’s welfare,” amplifying Dube’s distress and sense of helplessness.
The police have not disclosed whether the father will face charges or be brought in for questioning.
A Deeper Tragedy
As the legal process begins to unfold, authorities are now expanding the investigation to examine the broader socioeconomic factors and psychological conditions that may have contributed to the crime. This includes probing the dynamics of Dube’s relationship with the child’s father and whether there were missed opportunities for social intervention.
Zimbabwean social services, already stretched thin, are now facing tough questions about early warning systems and support structures for single mothers in economically vulnerable regions like Nyamandlovu.
> “We have to do more than prosecute. We must ask why no one saw this coming — why a mother had to reach her breaking point before anyone noticed,” said a Harare-based child welfare advocate, who requested anonymity.
Police are urging the public to report early signs of domestic distress, emotional instability, or violence within families to avert similar tragedies.
The case is currently with the National Prosecution Authority, and Dube is expected to face formal murder charges in court later this week.
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— By Parrot News Desk, Harare Bureau