An Epworth woman who confessed to stealing a newborn baby from Epworth Poly Clinic for ritual purposes was denied bail on Friday.
Christina Gwashavanhu (35) who is of no fixed abode, was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi facing a kidnapping charge.
She was remanded in custody to 9 July by Mangosi, who advised her to seek bail at the High Court.
Gwashavanhu lied she was Josie Kanzimbe, aged 28, to the police when she was arrested on Wednesday. The court heard that on June 23, Gwashavanhu;
… who was not the lawful custodian, unlawfully took an infant and deprived him of his freedom of bodily movement intending to cause deprivation or realising that there is real risk or possibility that such deprivation might result.
According to police, Gwashavanhu sneaked into the maternity ward, took advantage of the mother of the baby who was fast asleep due to labour fatigue and took away the baby.
Her luck however ran out after alert security personnel suspected that she was up to no good and reacted fast, leading to her arrest.