adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A 34-YEAR-OLD woman from Mangwe District suspected to be barren died after drinking a concoction she bought from a traditional healer that was meant to help her conceive.
Bonginkosi Sibanda had been married for the past 10 years but had failed to conceive.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Nkosilathi Sibanda, confirmed the incident which occurred last week at Mkhubazi Village, Sanzukwi area.
He said no arrests had been made but investigations were in progress.
“I can confirm that we are investigating a case of a woman who died after drinking a concoction that she reportedly bought from a local traditional healer. Her body was taken to Brunapeg Hospital mortuary,” said Asst Insp Sibanda.
The woman’s uncle, Victor Moyo, said his niece had always been troubled by her barrenness.
He said Sibanda was always engaged in verbal fights with her in-laws who were advising their son to marry another woman.
Moyo said his niece woke up on Wednesday morning and proceeded to the home of a traditional healer, who is from the area, to buy a concoction.
“My niece was under pressure because of her unfortunate condition. There was no peace in her married life because of her barrenness as her in-laws were constantly insulting her and openly telling her that they would kick her out and make place for a “real” woman.
“It appears that Bonginkosi got some advice from a friend who told her to consult a traditional healer,” said Moyo.
He said his niece did not inform anyone of her plans to buy the concoction.
Moyo said she left early in the morning and returned around 11PM upon which she revealed that she had gone to buy a concoction to help her conceive.
He said a few hours later his niece started vomiting and complaining of dizziness.
“We advised her to go to the clinic but she refused saying she would get better. Bonginkosi remained at home under the supervision of my sister who was monitoring her condition.
We all assumed that it was the concoction which was working which made her ill. In the evening when my sister went to check on her, she found her dead,” said Moyo.
He said his niece had not shown any signs of being ill until she consumed the concoction she got from the traditional healer.
A senior village head of the area, Kenneth Ncube, said there was a belief that barrenness could be cured using traditional medicine.
“There’s a cultural belief which has always existed that a barren woman can conceive if she is treated with traditional medicine. A number of women have in fact been assisted to conceive by traditional healers in the past,” said Ncube.
Online Reporter