A HWANGE man has been arrested for allegedly habitually
tying his three minor daughters with pieces of wire, suspending them from a
tree and whipping them while denying them food.
The man’s identity has been withheld to protect the
children. The man resides in Kanjeza Village, Msuna area under Chief Whange.
The heinous treatment of the minors aged five, eight and 14
came to light when the children visited their maternal grandmother and narrated
their ordeal.
The grandmother reported the abuse to a child healthcare
worker Ms Jesta Ncube who advised the children’s mother to report the matter to
the police.
It is not clear if the mother, whose details have also been
withheld to protect the children, knew about the abuse. The father has been charged with 12 counts of ill-treatment
of children.
Hwange magistrate Ms Ailene Munamati last week remanded him
in custody for trial.
For the State, Ms Jamesina Erica Makanza said the father
allegedly abused his children on four occasions last year.
She said on one of the occasions, the father tied two of
the children aged 8 and five on the hands with a piece of wire and hung them
from a tree.
The court was told that the two minors hung from a tree
with their feet suspended from the ground and he severely whipped them with a
switch.
This was after the two minors followed their father at his
workplace after returning from school and finding no one at home.
“Sometime last year the accused sent the complainants to
buy him airtime recharge cards at a nearby business centre and when they
returned, he took a switch and ordered them to lie down on the ground facing
downwards. He assaulted the three several times on the buttocks accusing them of
coming home late,” said the prosecutor.
On another occasion, the father bought a tin of jam for the
children and when it got finished, he allegedly accused them of stealing it.
He allegedly blindfolded each of them with a piece of cloth
before ordering them to lie on the ground on their stomachs.
The court was told that he whipped them severely on their
buttocks.
On another day he sent the three minors to buy him airtime
at Msuna Resort staff quarters and whipped them on their return for coming back
late.
On another day, the father and his children were having
supper when he allegedly took away meat from their plates and ate it.
The three daughters ate their isitshwala with soup only. The three complainants visited their maternal grandmother
in Simangani village and reported ill-treatment.
The grandmother approached Ms Ncube who then advised the
children’s mother to report the matter to the police.
The juveniles were taken to St Patrick’s Hospital where
they were medically examined while their father was arrested. Chronicle
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