TellZim reporter
GUTU–In what could be one of the saddest occurrences in Nzembe village, Headman Chimedza under Chief Makore in Gutu district, a two-year-old toddler was forced to watch her dead 21-year-old single mother’s body for two days before it was discovered.
The child is alleged to have been found in a traumatic condition and eating her own stool because of hunger since she had gone for two days without eating.
The deceased’s uncle Enock Masunga confirmed the incident to TellZim News and said they suspect that his brother’s daughter Anna Masunga died on Saturday (August 20) only to be discovered on Monday (August 22) in the afternoon.
He said the deceased had epilepsy (pfari) and they suspect it is the cause of her death since she stayed alone with child.
“Anna was last seen on Saturday, no one saw her on Sunday and we didn’t suspect anything as we just assumed that she had gone somewhere. On Monday, I checked at her place, did not see her and thought she had gone somewhere again but in the afternoon that’s when I felt something was wrong.
“We checked in her room through a window and saw her sleeping and that prompted us to smash the door that was locked from inside to gain entry only to discover that she was already dead and her kid was beside her,” said Enock.
He said they reported the matter to Nerupiri police station and police told them to bury the body if they did not suspect any foul play.
“We reported the matter to the police and they told us that we could proceed with burial if we all agreed that that there was no foul play which we did as a family,” he added.
Other sources however ruled out epilepsy as the cause of death saying she could have eaten something poisonous because she had blisters in her hand and was bleeding from the nose.
They also say there was no indication of struggle as usually associated with epilepsy.
“There was no indication of struggle at all, we usually know an epileptic person to have some seizures and it could have been seen on her blankets.
“People suspect that she could have eaten something because she was bleeding from the nose and had some blisters on her hands,” said the source.
Another source said the kid was found eating her own stool because of hunger since she had gone for two days without eating.
The deceased’s mother was said to have passed away some time ago while her father works in Harare. The young mother was also not married and had been impregnated by someone who disowned the pregnancy and dumped her.
