Grade 6 pupils kidnap and attempt botched circumcision on eight-yr-old boy

THREE Grade Six pupils from Gumbure Primary School in Chiwundura communal lands have been suspended from school after they recently kidnapped a schoolmate before they sliced part of his male organ using a sharp object in a suspected botched attempt to circumcise the boy.

Sources at the school said the three boys, two aged 13 and the other 14, were later picked by police from Muchakata Police Base for questioning.

The sources said the three juveniles indicated that they wanted to "circumcise" their victim, aged eight.

The incident, which has become the talk of the Chiwundura community, occurred about two weeks ago.

Sources at the school said the three boys were suspended this week after they again "kidnapped" their victim whom they were accusing of reporting them to the police and assaulted him.

"The boy had just reported back to school last Friday after spending a week admitted to Gweru Provincial Hospital. He was taken to the hospital following the first incident of abuse. On seeing their victim, the three boys then again kidnapped him after knocking off and assaulted him for reporting them to the police," said the source.
He said the school headmaster, Mr Kenias Madamba and the School Development Committee leadership then convened an emergency disciplinary hearing leading to the three's          suspension.

"The disciplinary hearing, which was attended by the three boys' parents then resolved that they be suspended while police were still looking into the matter," said the source.

Contacted for comment, Mr Madamba confirmed the incident.

He, however, declined to give further details and referred this reporter to the District Education Offices in Gweru.

"We have since reported the matter to the police and wrote a report to our District Education Offices. You can get a comment from either our offices there or the police," he said.

Police at Muchakata Police Base also confirmed the incident.

Meanwhile, the father of the eight-year-old boy, Mr Maxwell Chiwandikwa, said he was now considering withdrawing his boy from the school.

He said this was so because the way the three suspended boys "kidnapped" and attempted to "circumcise" his child was suspicious.

"My child told me that the boys who injured his organ had an empty yoghurt plastic container, which they used to gather blood, which was oozing out of his male organ. No one knows what happened to that container and the blood they took. This makes the three boys' act very
suspicious," he said.

Mr Chiwandikwa said his fear for his boy's health heightened when the three boys again kidnapped his son just after reporting for school on Monday.

"I am now considering withdrawing my child because after the culprits' suspension, you never know what they would do next. They can waylay and kidnap my child again. It's no longer safe to allow my son to continue attending the same school anymore," he said.

Mr Chiwandikwa said he would report the matter to the area's chief so that he could meet the parents of his child's tormentors.

"I am planning to report the matter to Chief Gambiza and see how best the matter can be resolved," he said.

Mr Chiwandikwa said he was disappointed by the police's failure to respond swiftly after the incident was reported.

"After we reported the matter to the police, they asked us as parents and the school authorities to bring the victim and the three accused to the police station. This prolonged the process and it was so disappointing," he said.