A  Zimbabwean woman developed labour pains and gave birth to a baby boy while standing in the long queue at the Beit Bridge border post.

Scores of travellers jostled to catch a glimpse of the woman giving birth. The incident, which lasted for about 15 minutes, drew the attention of other travelers and local customs and immigration officials. Some travellers had to abandon their places in the queue to have a closer look at the woman as she gave birth.

According to witnesses, the incident occurred on Friday at around 11:00 near the Zimbabwean immigration hall. "I was busy completing customs declaration forms inside the customs hall when, all of a sudden, people started shouting. When I went outside, scores of people had gathered around a woman who was giving birth,” said Mr Tinashe Nhamo Moyo, a local cross-border trader.

As the commotion continued, some elderly women quickly formed a circle around the woman to prevent their male counterparts from seeing what was happening. The woman reportedly delivered after about 15 minutes, following assistance from an elderly woman. The woman was coming from a shopping visit in neighbouring Musina.

When Limpopo Mirror arrived at the scene, about 30 minutes later, the woman had already been taken to the Beit Bridge District Hospital. This reporter visited the woman at the hospital’s maternity ward and found her cuddling her bouncing baby boy.

The woman, Ms Koketso Moyo of Dulibadzimu, said she started developing labour pains soon after arriving at the border post. “I was assisted by another woman who was also in the queue, and soon after I had given birth, an ambulance came and ferried me to the hospital,” she said.