Child maid suffers demonic abuse

A ZIMUNYA 15-year-old girl can hardly walk after sustaining two deep wounds on both legs when she was allegedly assaulted by a guardian with a cooking stick.

Manica Post reported that the girl, who stays with an employer only identified as Mai Maka, in Zimunya Township, was viciously attacked following a misunderstanding with the woman.

Apart from the attack, the teenager who is doing Grade Three is severely malnourished.

It has since emerged that she was not being given food and is already on a school roll of pupils receiving food at school.

Her guardian denied the allegations and claimed that she was her former domestic worker's daughter left in her custody.

She added that the wounds on the minor's both legs started as pimples and developed to the current state as she kept scratching them because of their itchiness.

"My former domestic worker left the child in my custody since she could no longer take care of her and I also needed a companion for my child. Honestly, I wonder why everybody is thinking that I assault the child. The child is a great liar. I just heard from a neighbour that a teacher at school give her sadza daily, but the child never told me that.

"I should have taken her back to her grandmother, but my heart hurts that she will be lonely with the old grandmother in the rural areas which is why I am keeping her," said Mai Maka.

She said she took the minor for medication at her own expense.

"If I was evil as this child wants to make people believe, would I have taken her to the clinic for medication? This child is a liar and it is best if you desist from listening to her," she said, shouting at the child into the room to ask her to explain how the wounds had started.

There was too much fear in the child that it took her around about four minutes to stammer a response: "Zvakatanga zvega, handina kumborohwa (It started naturally, I was never assaulted)".

Some teachers said police were investigating the matter.

"She told the police that she was assaulted by her guardian with a wooden cooking stick and if you ask her right now she will lie on the matter because she is afraid of that violent woman," said a teacher.

A neighbour who also requested anonymity claimed that she had at one time tipped off the police about the matter, but no action was taken.

She said the minor was being exploited as a maid before the community registered her name for the BEAM programme at the school.

"This has been going on for quite some time. I stay in this community and know the horrors the child has been going through at the hands of that woman. When we confronted her (the woman), she admitted her wrongdoings saying it was after she had found the girl on top of her own child.

"This child has not been going to school since she started staying with her and it is now three years. It was only after the community registered name on the BEAM programme that she started going to school, not what she is trying to make you believe that she was the one who registered her at the school," said the neighbour.

Zimunya Police Base member-in-charge, Assistant Inspector Mbewe, said no report had been made to that effect.

Zimunya Primary School deputy head, a Mrs Muteedzi refused to comment over the matter citing protocol.