Siblings handcuffed, bashed, left disabled

By Lungile Tshuma

MATOBO – Three primary school-going siblings from Lukadzi in Matobo were left with serious injuries that could lead to disability after they were reportedly assaulted by a member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee for throwing stones at an abandoned homestead.

The three children aged nine, 10 and 11 allegedly came under attack from a member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee, Marko Ngwenya, who has expressed interest in the homestead which was abandoned in 2002.

The parents of the children reported the matter to the police but Ngwenya has not yet been arrested, a development which has unsettled the family. The youngest child is doing Grade Three and the other two are doing Grade Four at Lukadzi Primary School.

Narrating their story to Sunday News in the presence of their parents, the children alleged that Ngwenya took them before they knocked off at school, handcuffed them and forced them to run for close to 5km to the police station.

On their way, the three minors allege that Ngwenya used logs to bash them and slapped them constantly. At the police station, they said nothing was resolved but they had already sustained serious injuries which later resulted in them failing to walk for nearly two weeks.

The youngest child, according to a medical report, has pus coming out of his left ear while the oldest is yet to walk properly. The incident happened on 3 August. According to the doctor’s report, the severity of the youngest child’s injuries is extreme.

“The injuries found the patient to be suffering from were consistent with having been inflicted by stick, sjamboks and logs. The degree of force used to inflict the injuries was very severe and there is a possibility of the patient having a permanent poor hearing problem,” reads the doctor’s report.

The other report revealed that the other child might have a problem with his spine since his back was severely damaged by the beatings. The report reads that he had bruises on the buttocks, swollen left thump, bruises on the forehead and a swollen back.
“There is a possibility of a permanent painful back,” reads part of the report.

However, Ngwenya denied the allegations.

“I reported the matter to the police and they gave me a letter giving me powers to take the children to the police camp. Their relatives took them to the police camp in my company,” said the 68-year-old.

“As for the names of people who assaulted the children, they will tell you who assaulted them.”

After being informed that the children were saying he was the one who assaulted them, he said the children were the ones who gave him the name of the person who assaulted them.

The children’s father, Mr Herbert Jamela, castigated police for their failure to address the matter with urgency. He also revealed that he has no money to take his children to specialist doctors.

“I went to Matopo Police Camp demanding answers on why the matter was yet to go to the courts. They gave me $10 to take these children to the clinic and they insisted that I should forgive them but I couldn’t accept such advice as my children deserve justice.

“I am not happy about what happened and I want this person to rot in jail. We want justice to prevail. What was the purpose of putting handcuffs on these children? I am failing to take them to specialist doctors because their conditions are extreme and this means that they can die at anytime. Their morale is very low and they told me that they are not comfortable going to school because other children are mocking them, what pains me most is that the homestead is deserted and there are no windows to talk about,” he said.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nkosilathi Sibanda confirmed that they were dealing with such a case. However, he said he was not in a position to divulge more information as they were still investigating the matter.

Village head Mr Major Ndlovu described Ngwenya as “troublesome and disrespectful.” He said the children were supposed to be reported to him before the police could intervene.

“The man (Ngwenya) you are talking about is very troublesome and disrespectful in this area. The homestead which he is talking about is not his and I wonder why he has to ill-treat children like that. He did not inform me about such an incident because he knew very well that I was going to tell him to leave the children alone,” said Headman Ndlovu.

Chief Malaki Masuku said he sat down with his village heads and they agreed that they were going to engage police on the matter.

“I am aware of this sad story but I am also still waiting for the feedback from village heads whom I met with a few weeks back. We discussed the matter and I hope that justice will take place,” said Chief Masuku. Sunday News