Mother accuses sons of abusing her

A Harare woman appeared before the civil court yesterday seeking a protection order against her two sons, whom she accused of physically abusing her whenever she assigned them household chores.

Mrs. Beatrice Banda, a resident of Old Tafara suburb, told the court that her sons, Amos and Kumbirai, had repeatedly assaulted her and even threatened to evict her from her own home.

"I am now afraid to ask my sons to do any work because they beat me and even threatened to chase me out of my own house. I lost my teeth when Kumbirai assaulted me," Mrs. Banda emotionally recounted before the magistrate.

The distressed mother revealed that the abuse had escalated to alarming levels, prompting her to seek police intervention at the Mabvuku Police Station. She further stated that one of her sons had vowed to take her life.

"I was told that one of them will kill me. My sons are very violent and abuse me constantly," she lamented.

Beyond physical violence, Mrs. Banda accused her sons of verbally abusing her, frequently using obscene language and even labeling her a witch. She also expressed frustration over their refusal to seek employment, leaving her to shoulder the burden of providing for the household alone.

"They do not want to work, and I am the one who provides for everything. I cannot live in peace in my own home because they are always threatening to kill me," she pleaded.

After hearing her testimony, the magistrate ruled in Mrs. Banda's favor, granting her a protection order to safeguard her from further abuse. The ruling is expected to bring some relief to the embattled mother, who has endured years of torment at the hands of her own children.