ZIMBABWE – In a case of child abuse that would make one’s stomach turn, a Penhalonga woman reportedly forced her sister’s two children aged 5 and 11 to defecate in a tin and eat their waste as she watched.
Melody Zvevamwe (31) of Chakonda Farm was last week arrested for abusing her two nieces who were left in her custody when their mother left for South Africa.
Zvevamwe was charged with ill-treatment or neglecting children as defined in Section 7 (3) of the Children Protection Act when she appeared before Mutare magistrate, Prisca Manhibi.
She pleaded guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody to 30 December for sentencing.
Prosecutor Tafadzwa Chiwanza told the court that on an unknown day in November, the accused ordered the complaints to relieve themselves in a tin and eat their waste as she watched.
Chiwanza alleged that the accused threatened to kill the children if they disobeyed her orders.
Zvivamwe also set plastic on fire and used it to burn one of the complaints on her back, stomach and hands.
It was further alleged that the accused would pull the children’s tongues using a pair of pliers as punishment and would also assault them with a whip and cooking stick.
The abuse came to light on 30 November through an anonymous tip-off which prompted police in Penhalonga and some child protection organisations to investigate Zvevamwe.
Their findings led to her arrest and the children were medically examined and taken to Simukai Child Protection Programme, a place of safety.
