Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – Three villagers from Pasvana village under Chief Neshuro who were recently arraigned before the Mwenezi Magistrates’ Court for dumping a bedridden child at a neighbour’s homestead, have been convicted.
The trio, Sophias Tavana (40), Sincengiwe Siziba (34) and Cecilia Sarugwana (34) went to Miriam Mahachi’s house where they dumped Siziba’s ill child saying she should eat the ‘meat’; accusing her of witchcraft.
They were convicted of the offence due to overwhelming evidence against them, despite all of them having pleaded not guilty.
Magistrate Honest Musiiwa strongly warned the trio before sentencing each of them to a wholly suspended six months imprisonment. The magistrate said since the trio were ordinary villagers, they might have ignorantly committed the offence, hence the wholly suspended sentence.
Presenting her side of the story in court earlier on, Mahachi said the three accused persons visited her homestead where they accused her of witchcraft. She said they then dumped the sick child at her homestead, saying that they had brought her some meat to eat.
Arguing for the State, Willard Chasi convinced the court that sometime in April, the three accused approached Mahachi at her homestead.
Tavana began to demand her undergarments from Mahachi, claiming that she was bewitching her through her panties she had stolen.
Second accused, Siziba also joined and began to accuse Mahachi of being in possession of a snake that was causing the illness of her child. She then wrapped the ill child into blankets and dumped him at the homestead.
The third accused, Sarugwana reportedly told Mahachi to eat the flesh of the ill child as she was the one bewitching him.
After dressing-down Mahachi, the trio went away, leaving behind the terminally ill child at Mahachi’s homestead. A police report was later made, leading to the arrest of the three.crime
