A father has been arrested for allegedly suffocating his five-month-old baby to death and burying her in a shallow grave. Skhumbuzo Sithole (36) from KwaDukuza in Stanger, north coast of Durban in KwaZulu Natal, appeared at the KwaDukuza Magistrate's Court on Wednesday following his arrest.

It's alleged that Sithole and his girlfriend, who is also the mother of the baby, went on a drinking spree at a local tavern and left the baby alone inside their house. The baby, Kwanele Sithole, was allegedly killed by his father in the early hours of last Thursday morning when his parents came back from the tavern. His mother, who cannot be named because she hasn't appeared in court, alleges that she woke up on Thursday morning to her son dead. Kwanele's aunt, Nomzamo Nqoko, told ZiMoja that her sister told the family that the baby slept between his parents when they returned from the tavern. "She said when she woke up in the morning, the baby was not breathing and Skhumbuzo suggested that they go to the nearest river and bury the child and not tell anyone. They tried digging a grave, but the soil was too hard. They then decided to go back to their place and bury him at the back of their house," she said.

Nomzamo said that on Sunday, her sister got drunk and confessed to the family about what she and her husband did to the baby. "She came to visit us on Wednesday without the child. We questioned her where the baby was, and she told us that Kwanele was with Skhumbuzo. She then asked us what we will do if we found out that she had killed the child and buried him. We did not take her seriously because she was drunk. We were shocked when the father of the child called us and informed us that the child was no more and that they had buried him at the back of their house," Nomzamo added. She said the family contacted the police and went to her house with them. When they got there, Kwanele's father allegedly ran away. "We started searching for the grave until we found it on Sunday afternoon. Skhumbuzo was arrested on Monday while hiding at his relatives," she said. She also said that her sister has not been arrested and she denied playing any part in the murder. "She claimed that Skhumbuzo threatened to kill her if she spoke out about this," she said. KZN SAPS spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed the incident. "Police in KwaDukuza have arrested a 29-year-old man for murder following an incident in which a body of baby was allegedly buried in a shallow grave by his parents. The suspect appeared before KwaDukuza Magistrates Court on 24 April 2024," she said.