‘Child killer’ dragged to court

By Jeffrey Muvundusi

A Pumula South woman — Gladys Sibanda — has been dragged to court for allegedly killing her four-year-old niece and burying the body at her rented house.

Sibanda, 42, appeared before magistrate Tinashe Tashaya yesterday facing murder charges.

The mother of four was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody to June 2.

She was, however, asked to apply for bail at the High Court.

Allegations against Sibanda are that sometime in August last year, she visited her in-laws in Zungwana Village 19, Binga, where she took the now deceased Thandeka Moyo from her mother and promised to bring her back.

The court heard that upon arrival in the city, she physically abused the now deceased by constantly assaulting her using sticks and hands.

This resulted in her sustaining serious wounds all over the body.

The accused did not bother taking the deceased to hospital for treatment until such a time her condition deteriorated, the court heard.

As a result, in November last year, the now deceased passed on at the Pumula South house.

In an attempt to conceal her crime, Sibanda reportedly buried the deceased in a shallow grave in her back yard.

The matter came to light after the accused gave conflicting statements regarding the whereabouts of her niece, almost five months later.

After thorough interrogations, Sibanda later led the police to the scene where she had buried the deceased, leading to her arrest.

Meanwhile, police exhumed the body on Monday, which was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem. Daily News