Pregnant woman, baby killers guilty of murder

The High Court sitting in Mwanza on Wednesday this week convicted a couple that killed a pregnant woman and extracted the premature baby in September 2004 in the district.

Mwanza Police Station confirmed the court’s decision, saying judge Rowland Mbvundula has set April 24 2015 to pass the sentence in the murder case.

The police said the court heard that the suspects, 29-year-old Stonia Bernard and her husband, killed and removed a baby from the womb of Agatha Efremu, a mother of four.

The court further heard that at the time of the incident, Efremu was nine months pregnant and was expected to deliver in a week’s time.

It was said that Bernard went with her mother to the hospital, claiming to be five months pregnant.

While there, the two women allegedly persuaded Efremu to go for a walk to a river only to kill her on the way.

The police said Bernard and her mother returned to the hospital, carrying the baby and claiming that she had delivered it.

However, the claims were proved false after medical tests at Mwanza District Hospital.

The court heard that it was later discovered that the baby was stolen and the two were arrested.