7 children die under mysterious circumstances in a space of a week

SEVEN children, aged between two and five years, from Gokwe's Musutisi Village under Chief Njelele, recently died one after the other under mysterious circumstances in a space of a week.

Although the actual cause of the deaths could not be immediately established, Chief Njelele, who broke the news of the deaths to Sunday News last week, suspects negligence on the part of the children's parents

Chief Njelele said the seven juveniles from his area died some time in March this year after their parents, who are members of the Johane Marange apostolic sect, refused to take them to hospital for treatment citing religious reasons.

The children have since been buried but an investigation into the cause of the death has since been launched by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare.

Chief Njelele said after receiving reports of the successive deaths, he interviewed the children's parents who told him that it was against their religious doctrine to seek medical assistance from the hospital.

"I received reports that seven children from Musutisi Village had died one after the other. I sought to understand the cause of the deaths because it is rare for children to die one after the other in a space of one week unless there is an outbreak of a disease or something.

"It is during my inquiry that I learnt from the parents that the children had been sick for some time but were not taken to hospital until they died.

"The children's parents are members of the Joanne Marange Apostolic sect and their church doctrine does not allow members to seek medical attention," said Chief Njelele.

The traditional leader said he has since made a report to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare who have also launched an investigation into the causes of the deaths.

He said preliminary findings by the Ministry of Health officials suggest two possibilities to the children's death.

The final report stating the actual cause is expected soon.

"After I did my inquiries, I notified the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare who have since launched an investigation to establish the cause for the deaths.

"From what I get from their preliminary findings, the children could have died of malnutrition or because they were not immunised against one these diseases that kill children. I understand that the final report stating the actual cause of the death is still being processed," said Chief Njelele.

Midlands Provincial Medical Director, Dr Milton Chemhuru said he had not received a formal report on the matter but had only heard of the deaths through hearsay.

He, however, said his Ministry has since instructed the District Medical Officer (DMO) for Gokwe North to investigate the matter and compile a report.

"I have only heard about the matter through informal channels so I can neither confirm nor deny that such an incident occurred. We have however acted on the information we received and my DMO is currently investigating the matter to establish if it all it occurred.

"If it appears that it's true that seven children indeed died in Chief Njelele's area we will seek to establish the causes of the deaths and a report will be written. Once the report has been compiled, we will certainly share it with you," he said.

Dr Chemhuru urged all members of apostolic sects to seek medical attention in approved institutions to avoid loss of life.

Chief Njelele concurred with Dr Chemhuru in urging members of apostolic sects to seek medical attention.

The traditional leader expressed concern over the negligent behavior exhibited by the parents of the children who refused their children the right to medical care.

He called upon Government to put punitive measures against people who deny children rights such as receiving primary health care.

"Government should come up with law that punishes people who refuse to take their children to hospital when they are sick or refuse to have their children immunised against killer diseases.

"Every child has the right to primary health care regardless of their parents' religious persuasions and that should be emphasised," he said.

The Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) an ecumenical board for apostolic and zion churches, has also been on record urging its members to seek medical attention at approved medical institutions.