Mahachi granny testifies in court

A SOMBRE atmosphere engulfed the court when footballer Kudakwashe Mahachi's grandmother was testifying in a case in which the footballer is on trial for attempting to murder his son.

Giving her testimony before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mark Dzira during the footballer's ongoing trial, Mahachi's 82-year-old grandmother, Julian Ntuli, said she was filled with pain when she saw the child's dire condition.

This was after she was called by Sinikiwe Sibanda, Mahachi's sister to come to Cowdray Park to see the child a few days after he was "smuggled" from South Africa.

"I was filled with pain when l saw the child's condition, the house was smelling and l enquired about the whereabouts of the child's mother. I asked the girls to call her and l invited her to the house. When she arrived, it was already late for us to go to the hospital. We had to go to the hospital the next day," she said.

She said Mahachi and his wife Rose only sent R600 (about US$30) for them to take the five-year-old boy to hospital.

"After that l called Mahachi and told him that the child was supposed to go to the hospital and he said that his wife Rose was going to send R600 to take the child to the clinic.

"I then suggested that we take the child to Mpilo Central Hospital, but Mahachi said he wanted us to go to the hospital where his mother had died, that is, in Mpopoma," she said.

Ntuli added that when the child was taken to the clinic the nurses then called the ambulance to take the child to Mpilo Central Hospital.

"When l looked at the child's wounds, l observed that the child was seriously injured, he was burnt on the left and right side especially on the thighs and the right leg," she said.

Giving her testimony, the child's mother Maritha Ndlovu revealed that she had been blocked on social media and calls by Mahachi and his wife after her child was taken to South Africa.

She said that on 14 April when the child returned from SA she was not informed about his return until she received a call from the grandmother informing her about the child's condition and she was asked to come to Cowdray Park.

"When I got there, I found the child lying on the sofa with a bandage on his head, legs and his body was swollen," she said.

She added that the child also had wounds on his stomach. Some of these wounds were fresh while some had darkened and healed.

The matter was deferred to 13 September 2022 for continuation of trial.

Allegations against Mahachi are that on a date unknown to the prosecutor between 25 February 2022 and 14 April 2022, Mahachi assaulted his son with an iron bar on the head and mouth.

He further scalded him with water all over the body and assaulted him with a charger cable all over the body, it is alleged. As a result of the assault the complainant sustained burns and injuries all over the body.

After the series of assaults the accused person did not take the complainant to the hospital for medical attention but instead returned him to Zimbabwe through a cross-border transporter.

The State is being represented by Acumen Khuphe.