Maid pleads guilty in plot to kill employer

Zvikomborero Parafini

AN 18-year-old woman yesterday pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of her employer.

She poisoned her for delays in paying her wages.

Nyaradzo Gosha pleaded guilty when she appeared before Harare magistrate Letwin Rwodzi, who remanded her in custody to today, for sentencing.

The court heard that on April 28, Gosha confided in their neighbour, Thandiwe Mandibaya, at Glen Norah Police Camp, and told her that she was not in good books with her employer, Konai Muzhangiri, a police officer.

She told Thandiwe that Konai had delayed paying her wages, and was also denying her food.

Thandiwe then advised Gosha to poison Konai.

Gosha pleaded guilty to lacing various foodstuffs, including juice, yeast, oats, spices and fenugreek seeds with rat poison in an attempt to kill Konai and her five-year-old child.

Konai returned home and smelt the rat poison when she took the juice, and immediately suspected Gosha of lacing it.

She took the juice to the police and reported the matter. When Gosha was interrogated, she confessed to lacing the juice with rat poison at the advice of Thandiwe.

The State submitted a report from a food scientist which confirmed that the juice and other foodstuffs had been laced with rat poison.

Asked by the court what she was going to do if Konai and her son had died, Gosha said it wasn’t her intention to kill them.