Police in Mangochi have arrested a 20-year-old woman for dumping her newly born baby into a pit latrine.

Mangochi Police deputy spokesperson Amina Tepani Daudi said the suspect, Sausedye Saizi, who until her delivery refused to disclose the man behind her pregnancy, dumped her child in a pit latrine few metres from her house at Bwanali village.

It is reported that the suspect revealed the incident after her mother interrogated her upon discovery that she is no longer pregnant.

Daudi also said that police’s effort to rescue the baby proved futile as it was found already dead.

“Police rushed to the scene and hooked the toddler from the pit-latrine unfortunately she did not survive,” Daudi said.

Meanwhile, police says the suspect has not yet revealed her motive and that she will appear before court to answer charges of concealing birth.

Sausedye Saizi hails from Bwanali village in Traditional Authority Chowe in Mangochi.