HARARE
–
Police
say
the
kidnapping
of
a
two-year-old
girl
from
a
busy
Bulawayo
shopping
centre
was
carried
out
by
a
14-year-old
Form
One
pupil,
dramatically
reversing
earlier
indications
that
the
suspect
was
a
man.
Baby
Asanda
Ndlovu,
who
was
snatched
from
Meikles
Market
on
Tuesday,
was
found
unharmed
on
Thursday
at
a
business
premises
at
the
corner
of
Herbert
Chitepo
Street
and
3rd
Avenue.
The
teenage
suspect,
who
cannot
be
named
for
legal
reasons,
was
paraded
before
reporters
on
Friday
with
her
face
covered
by
a
mask.
In
a
startling
confession,
she
told
journalists
she
staged
the
kidnapping
to
convince
her
36-year-old
boyfriend,
identified
only
as
Mumba,
that
she
had
a
child.
“Mumba
asked
me
if
I
have
a
child
and
I
said
yes.
So
he
asked
me
to
bring
the
baby.
That’s
when
I
went
to
Meikles,”
the
girl
said.
She
said
she
entered
the
mall
and
went
to
a
stall
run
by
Nesisa
Mpofu,
pretending
to
be
a
customer
looking
for
a
pillow.
Mpofu
was
at
work
with
her
baby.
“When
I
got
there
the
baby
was
crying
and
I
lifted
her
up.
She
stopped
crying.
She
is
a
friendly
baby,”
she
said.
Police
had
initially
said
they
were
hunting
for
a
male
suspect
based
on
grainy
CCTV
footage
showing
a
figure
in
jeans
carrying
the
toddler.
The
teenager
said
she
did
not
disguise
herself
but
simply
pulled
a
hoodie
over
her
head.
She
told
police
she
took
the
child
to
Mumba,
whom
she
described
as
her
sister’s
ex-boyfriend,
intending
to
later
return
the
baby.
However,
she
alleged
that
Mumba
instructed
her
to
remain
at
his
residence
in
Trenance
until
Thursday
morning,
when
she
returned
to
the
city
centre
with
the
child.
At
a
block
of
flats
housing
several
businesses,
she
approached
a
man
in
one
office
and
asked
him
to
look
after
the
baby
for
a
few
minutes,
claiming
the
child’s
father
was
across
the
street
and
would
collect
her.
The
man
later
told
police
he
was
alarmed
that
a
stranger
would
entrust
him
with
a
toddler.
He
locked
the
teenager
inside
the
office
with
another
woman
and
rushed
to
Meikles
Market
to
alert
security
guards.
Police
were
subsequently
called.
The
teenager,
who
lives
with
her
mother
in
Rangemore,
said
the
baby
had
been
fed
on
a
diet
of
rice,
hot
chips
and
corn
puff
snacks
during
the
two
days
she
was
missing.
“I’m
really
sorry.
I
made
a
mistake.
I’m
asking
for
forgiveness,”
she
said.
She
is
expected
to
appear
before
a
juvenile
court.
Meanwhile,
Meikles
Market
administrators
said
they
would
be
“implementing
measures
to
strengthen
safety
protocols
and
ensure
that
incidents
of
this
nature
do
not
occur
again.”