Man defends wife who threw baby from taxi

“My wife tried to save our child; now the baby is dead, and my wife is in prison.”

Those are the words of a Pretoria man who is fighting to clear his wife's name. She is charged with murder after throwing their four-month-old baby out of the window of a moving vehicle last month.

Maxwell Dhemba, 32, is heartbroken over the arrest of his wife Jessica Kwangware, 29, and the death of their four-month-old daughter, Mennyesha.

He visited her in prison and she shared her version of what happened on that tragic day. “Jessica believed she and Mennyesha were being kidnapped for muti. My wife tried to save our child; now the baby is dead and my wife is in prison,” he told the Sunday Times.

“In South Africa, kidnappings and abductions for muti happen [a lot]. It is not strange that my wife thought this was happening to her and our child,” said Dhemba, who does piecemeal work for a living.

The couple, who live in Vastfontein outside Pretoria, are originally from Zimbabwe. “I have been here for three years and my wife for one. Mennyesha was born in South Africa. We also have two boys, aged 10 and five.”

The incident happened on March 3 on the R101 near Pretoria.

“My wife needed to send money to family in Zimbabwe. She left our house and started walking to the closest Spar centre, which is a few kilometres away.”

Along the way, a man and a passenger in a white Nissan NP 300 bakkie stopped to give her a lift. “This is not a taxi, but it is not a rare event. People here use this kind of transport because unlike the taxi, they will drop you exactly where you want to go,” Dhemba said.

“She told me that when they reached the road where they had to turn to go to Spar, the driver continued straight. My wife said she was worried and told him that he had missed the turn. The driver told her he had to pick up someone else and then he would drop her at Spar. At this point Jessica told him to stop the car so she could get out and walk, but the driver refused and kept driving.”

At the new pick-up point an empty house waited.

“The driver made a call and then told Jessica the person he had to pick up was waiting at Pyramid Clinic nearby. He would pick up that person and then drop my wife and child at the Spar. When they reached the road where they had to turn for Pyramid, he kept going. By that time Jessica said she was frantic with fear, believing this man was kidnapping her and our child.”

His voice breaks.

“My wife tried to save our baby. She tried to open the door so she could jump out with Mennyesha, but the child lock was on. The window was open, and she saw there was grass on the sidewalk. Jessica tried to throw Mennyesha so she would land on the grass but at that moment, the other passenger grabbed her to attempt to stop her, and her aim was out. Our baby landed badly,” Dhemba said.

Dhemba said his wife told him the driver tried to flee the scene after Jessica climbed out of the vehicle. “But another car saw this and drove around him to block him. A police car drove past and stopped, but they just listened to what the driver told them and then arrested my wife.

“Why would my wife choose to kill our baby in this public way? She was a lovely child, happy and quiet, never any problems.”

He needs answers. “My wife is not an angry person. She has no history of anger issues or mental health. She is a normal mother who tried to protect our daughter and now she is in prison.”

Dhemba said his wife was due back in the Pretoria North magistrate's court on June 3. “She was denied bail. The magistrate said it was because she is in South Africa illegally,” he said.

Col Mavela Masondo, Gauteng police spokesperson, said they cannot comment on a matter that is already before the court.

The NPA did not reply to requests for comment.