Woman strikes child with knobkerrie

knobkerrie

A Masvingo woman fatally struck her eight year-old child with a knobkerrie on the head and all over the body after the child lost her school shoes.

The incident occurred last week at Marege Village in Chief Nyajena’s area of Masvingo. The woman, Sarudzai Mahlamaki, allegedly fatally assaulted her eight year-old child Pamela Mabika with a knobkerrie while in a drunken stupor.

Police spokesman for Masvingo Province, Inspector Tinaye Matake, confirmed the incident to Sunday News yesterday. He said Sarudzai arrived home from a beer drink around 7pm and found her two children Admire (15) and Pamela at home seated in the kitchen hut.

On her arrival, she cooked food and they ate before they went to the bedroom to sleep. While in the bedroom and before they retired to bed she looked for Pamela’s school shoes that she wanted to polish but could not find them. She inquired from her where she had put the shoes.

Pamela however told her that that she lost the shoes while they were herding cattle and this did not go down well with Sarudzai who quickly grabbed a knobkerrie that was in the bedroom hut and struck Pamela on the head and she fell down.

She however, in her drunken stupor, allegedly continued to assault her all over the body with the knobkerrie demanding that she go and get the shoes where she had left them.

Pamela died on the spot as a result of the assault. Her body was taken to Renco Mine Hospital mortuary where a post-mortem has to be conducted to ascertain the real cause of death.

Sarudzai was arrested and is in police custody assisting the police with investigations. Insp Matake discouraged parents and guardians from assaulting children while drunk and to be wary of the instruments and objects they use to discipline their children.