adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A SIX year-old Bulilima girl who was axed by her stepfather has been discharged from hospital and is now living with her grandparents. The ECD pupil was admitted to Plumtree District Hospital for a week following the attack. Her stepfather, Themba Ndlovu, 28, recently bludgeoned his 26-year-old wife Ntombi Gumbo to death and went on to attack the six-year-old girl with the same axe, leaving her for dead before fleeing from the scene.
Ndlovu then hanged himself from a tree outside his in-laws’ homestead in a neighbouring village after accusing his wife of bringing home a new pair of shoes bought by a boyfriend.
Thiyiwe Sibanda said her granddaughter was discharged on Saturday morning. She said the girl had remained confused about what had transpired on the day she and her mother were attacked.
“We collected her on Saturday and she is now staying with us. Her condition has improved although she has not yet fully recovered as she complains of pain from the wounds she sustained during the attack,” she said.
“She was asking about her step-father and mother’s whereabouts but we tried to explain to her although I don’t know if she fully understands. She was saying she recalls that her stepfather and mother were quarrelling and he attacked her mother and herself with an axe and he left them bleeding.”
She said the girl was left confused by her stepfather’s actions as she did not know why he was attacking them.
Sibanda said her granddaughter recalls leaving her mother lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor as they rushed her to hospital.
“We tried telling her that her mother and stepfather had passed away but I don’t know whether she understood what we meant. Our aim was to avoid over-burdening her with a lot of details.
“What pleases us is that she is playing just like what any normal child would do. This also helps to keep her occupied so that she doesn’t constantly ask about her mother’s whereabouts,” said Sibanda.
She said her husband who had now travelled back to South Africa where he works had made attempts on Friday to secure counselling services for their late daughter’s children aged six and 12 years old in Plumtree, to no avail.
She said he was referred to Bulawayo but was unable to go there because of work commitments.
Sibanda said they would try to take the children for counselling when her husband later returns to the country.
Headman Mazwaligwe, under whose area the family resides, said the concept of seeking intervention for child victims was alien to some of the rural folk.
“We’ve a lot of children and adults who have gone through haunting experiences such as rape and attempted murder. Some of the victims especially children live around their perpetrators,” said Headman Mazwaligwe.
“They are forced to continue with their lives without getting any intervention or help. It could be better if these services were within the reach of the rural folk as that’s where most of the affected people are located. People also need to be educated on this aspect.”
Online Reporter