A 46-YEAR-OLD woman from Bulawayo allegedly tied up her
11-year-old daughter and poured boiling water on her hands and feet as
punishment for failing to cook supper on time.
Sithweleni Ngwenya of Pumula South suburb allegedly lost
her temper after finding the minor playing with friends around 7PM instead of
cooking.
Ngwenya told Western Commonage magistrate Ms Tancy Dube
that she did not know what happened to her daughter and was surprised to hear
that her daughter had been taken to hospital.
“I arrived home at around 7PM and there was no electricity
at home and there is no way l could have punished my daughter like that when l
knew the reason why she had not cooked,” she said.
Ngwenya, who was represented by Ms Caroline Mudenda of
Mudenda Attorneys, pleaded not guilty to physical abuse.
Ms Mudenda told the court that the minor could have
mistakenly burnt herself while cooking.
“The minor usually cooks food for her two siblings when she
gets home from school. She might have burnt herself because when she cooks she
stands on top of a chair. There is no way her own mother could have burnt her
on purpose.
“On the day in question, Ngwenya got home at around 7PM and
there was no electricity. She asked her daughter to gather firewood and that’s all
she remembers about that day,” she said.
The prosecutor, Mr Tapiwa Solani said on November 8 last
year, Ngwenya got home from work and found two of her daughters playing
outside.
“She asked her if she had cooked and went into the house
where she found that electricity had been restored.
“Ngwenya allegedly asked her elder daughter who was in the
house and is said to be mentally unstable to boil some water. She later called
the minor into the house, locked her inside before tying her hands and pouring the
boiling water on her,” he said.
The following morning, Ngwenya went to work and left her
children preparing to go to school, the court heard. The girl showed her teacher the burns and explained how her
mother had scalded her.
The court heard the teacher rushed her to Mpilo Central
Hospital where she was admitted and later reported the matter to the police.
A medical report was produced in court as an exhibit.
Chronicle
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