The Police in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania have arrested a woman identified as Junge Jilatu, aged 28 years for allegedly murdering her two children in cold blood at night.
An official statement from the Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP), Augustino Senga reveals that the suspect is being held in custody alongside her three friends in connection with the homicide case.
SACP Senga, who serves as the Regional Police Commander for Songwe, explained that the suspect first strangled the two children, who were fast asleep, before hacking them with something sharp, possibly a machete.
The two children have been named as Lwambo Charles, aged 3 and Kamba Charles a two-month old baby both being siblings and happened to have been asleep on a single bed.
The incident occurred at the suspect’s home in the Namsinde Village of Songwe Region on the 11th of January 2025.
According to police reports, as soon as she slaughtered her two babies, the woman took one of the bodies and dumped it in a roadside drainage trench amid ongoing rains.
It is still not known why the mother of two decided to resort to such a cruel step against her own babies.
However, from early investigations conducted by the police, though interviewing friends, neighbours and relatives, it seems the suspect was stressed by ongoing family conflicts.
Apparently her husband, Mr Charles was accusing his wife Junge of cheating and being involved in extramarital affairs.
Even worse, the man told her that he was not sure if the children were his own, claiming that the woman had for years been shamefully sleeping around with his own brothers and chances are the babies were born out of wedlock.
As for the other two suspects who were arrested alongside the lady, the police are yet to explain their roles in the gruesome killings.