TIED WITH SHOELACES ALL NIGHT, BASHED

Arron Nyamayaro

A BROTHER and a sister were tied with shoelaces for the whole night and assaulted by their cousin for misbehaving.

One of the minors, Nokutenda Manyeredzi, 11, was assaulted by two people, and spent the whole night tied with a shoelace.

She was bundled into a kombi and taken to the home of her father’s elder brother, Noah Machakanja, in Hopley.

Narrating her ordeal, Nokutenda showed H-Metro wounds she sustained from the beating.

She said she was tied by Belinda Manyeredzi.

“Ndakaroverwa kuti ndakanyora zvinyadzi mutoilet,” said Nokutenda.

“I was assaulted by one of the villagers, and the husband of my late mother’s sister tied my hands for the whole night.

“The following day Mainini Belinda took me to a commuter omnibus and directed the driver to take me to my father’s elder brother in Hopley,” she said.

Machakanja said Nokutenda took hours to arrive home since she was not familiar with Hopley.

“One of the passengers helped her with a phone to call me,” said Machakanja.

“That is how she managed to get here.

“I was shocked to see her hands with wounds and bruises all over her body.

“She narrated how she was ill-treated and I took the matter to social welfare officials and the police,” he said.

Nokutenda’s brother, Elington Machakanja, 15, was also assaulted and pinched with clothing pegs all over his body as punishment for refusing to weed a maize field.

He fled from Mutimbanyoka Village and found a temporary job to raise money and followed Nokutenda to Hopley, where the two are living with their uncle Machakanja.

Their father, Shupai Machakanja, is based in South Africa and was reported to have left his seven children with his mother-in-law, Gogo Daisy Manyeredzi.

Gogo Daisy confirmed the incident, saying the two had been misbehaving.

“Belinda took Nokutenda to her father’s parents because she was misbehaving,” said Gogo Daisy.

“Mwana wacho anoita seakagarwa nemamhepo saka baba mudiki vake vakamutora havana kumurova vakamusunga mawoko, akarara  akasungwa kuti asatize.

“She was taken to a bus and directed to Hopley.

“Elington just disappeared from home.

“Their mother died in 2020, and their father is based in South Africa.

“He is not supportive, and never came to the funeral of his wife, apa haana kuroora asi akamuzvarisa vana seven,” said Gogo Daisy.