Online Reporter
Midlands Bureau
A Gokwe vendor who forcibly drained blood from a 10-year-old girl’s finger on Monday morning has been sentenced to two years in jail.
Mavis Sibanda (33) from Gokwe town, appeared before Gokwe Magistrate, Mr Honest Musiiwa, facing one count of assault.
Sibanda was convicted on her own plea of guilty to the charge and was handed a two-year prison sentence.
It was the State case as presented by prosecutor Ms Tatenda Angela Mandishona that on Monday around 10am at Sai Mart Supermarket in Gokwe CBD Sibanda drew blood from the minor (name withheld to protect her identify).
Sibanda, a vendor with a stall near the supermarket, asked the minor who was passing through the marketplace to come to her stall and she complied.
The court heard that Sibanda asked the minor to stretch out her right forefinger, which she went on to grab, inserted a needle and drew out a blood sample that she put on a HIV test kit.
The minor started crying while walking towards her home.
She met two men whom she narrated her ordeal to.
The court heard that the men then contacted her father before escorting her back to Sibanda’s vending stall.
The police were called, leading to Sibanda’s arrest.
derick.khumalo