Boy, 6, sues grandfather for physical and verbal abuse

A SIX-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo boy physically and verbally abused by his grandfather has been granted a protection order.

Makura Tima, 45, of Njube suburb sometimes takes the young boy and dumps him in the city centre, a court heard.

The lad, through his grandmother, Dambudzo Mudau, successfully won an interim protection order against his abusive grandfather.

Mudau told Western Commonage magistrate Tancy Dube her polygamous husband was traumatising the boy as she sought the court's intervention to protect him.

"When I and the boy's mother are absent, he beats him up and uses threats to silence him. Sometimes he throws away the boy's food while he's still eating," she said.

"He once forcibly took the boy from school and left him at Chicken Inn. We thank God because the boy was clever enough to find his way to his mother's flea market in the city centre."

According to the Chronicle, Mudau, 45, accused her husband of abusing the boy as a way of settling scores in the polygamous family.

Mudau, who stated that she is the first  wife, said a protection order was the only way to keep the boy safe.  She also vowed to stay put at the house, saying she worked hard to build it with her husband.

A report presented by Thandazile Nyoni from Childline Bulawayo confirmed the boy had been abused, noting he was afraid to testify against his grandfather in court.