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Herald Reporter
A one year-old baby in Marondera died on New Year’s Eve when a hut he was sleeping in was gutted by fire. Mashonaland East assistant provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Tendai Mwanza said Blessing Chiruru of Shonhiwa Village in Igava died when a fire caused by a candle left burning by his elder sister Beloved Mafuka (14) lit something else in the hut.
The sister had gone to a neighbour’s house for New Year celebrations and forgot to blow out the candle before she left. It could not be established where the parents of the two children were at the time
At around 3am, the teen girl saw huge flames coming from the hut and rushed home to investigate. She tried to rescue the baby but failed.
Police retrieved Chiruru’s body, which was burnt beyond recognition.
A postmortem was waived by Mashonaland East Provincial magistrate Gibson Mandaza.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu