adminYESTERDAY, we ran a very sad story involving a Grade 7 Norton girl who died while giving birth at a church shrine in Bikita, Masvingo.
A victim of early childhood pregnancy, the young girl, Nokutenda Hwaramba, plunged the Katanga suburb into mourning.
Sadly, the man who made her pregnant, is reported to have gone into hiding.
Wherever he is, he should feel ashamed of his selfish and diabolical actions, which led to the death of the little girl.
Nokutenda’s future was blighted by a sex-starved man who was not concerned about the child’s future.
The man should be hunted down and prosecuted for the offence he committed.
As a nation, we can’t continue losing lives in this manner.
This incident has also triggered the sad memories of the Marange girl who died at a shrine while giving birth.
This is just another version of the Marange case and Nokutenda could have been saved had the innocent girl found help.
From the information we have gathered, the 15-year-old was a favourite of many in the Katanga suburb.
And, her painful death at the hands of prophets who were trying to help her deliver, makes sad reading.
Some irate residents, who were riled by the death, went on to attack the girl’s mother on Wednesday.
They also wanted to bash the late girl’s father for taking her to the shrine, where she passed away.
It is said their church doctrine does not allow families to seek medical help from hospitals.
They claim they have their own midwives, who can safely help expecting mothers, to deliver safely.
It’s sad to lose a young life just like that when her death could have been prevented if the right medical treatment had been sought.
Nowadays, expecting mothers are given a priority at most Council and Government hospitals.
Because of the special nature of the conditions, given she was just a 15-year-old girl, it’s very likely she would have been given priority.
Parliamentarians are currently in the process of enacting laws which make it an offence to deny children medical help.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, some apostolic churches allowed their members to be vaccinated.
The same applies to the ongoing blitz against measles where some members of various apostolic sects have given their members the greenlight to be vaccinated.
The same should happen with expecting mothers.
Pregnancy comes with complications, which makes it a must for expecting mothers to be given all the attention they deserve.
Heartless men preying on young girls should be arrested and jailed since the laws of the land are clear on that issue.
As we mourn Nokutenda, let us not forget other girls who are in similar situations.
Such cases should be publicised and not concealed to save future generations. This is the correct time for whistle blowers to come on board and save lives.
It’s our future, as a nation, which is at risk here and we should unite in the fight against such the abuse of all our teenage girls.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter