Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, [email protected]
A 32-year-old woman from Nkayi District has been sentenced to five years in prison after she brutally assaulted her three-year-old stepdaughter, beating her with a rope, pouring boiling water over her body and burning her with lit firewood logs.
Buhlebenkosi Ndlovu, of Sazini Ndlovu’s homestead in Zende Village under Chief Tshugulu, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Ms Sibonginkosi Mnkandla, where she was convicted of attempted murder.
The accused is the stepmother of the complainant.
The magistrate initially imposed a seven-year jail term, but suspended two years for five years on condition of good behaviour, leaving her with an effective five-year sentence.
Prosecuting, Ms Tsungai Mutapi told the court that on June 26 last year, around 2PM, Ndlovu and the child were at Sazini Ndlovu’s homestead in Nkayi.
She said the accused became enraged because the child’s father, an artisanal miner based in Filabusi, was not sending money home for the family’s upkeep.
Ndlovu then called the toddler to her, repeatedly assaulted her with a rope, poured boiling water over her and burned her with firewood logs. The assault only stopped when neighbours intervened.
The case was reported to the police, leading to the accused’s arrest. The child was taken to hospital for medical examination and treatment.
The minor remains admitted, and the medical report was produced in court as evidence.
Peter Tanyanyiwa