Kids circumcised with nail-cutter

CRUELTY at its worst!!!
This can aptly describe a man from Tegwe Village in Chief Mutasa's area, who in a moment of madness allegedly opted to be a backyard surgeon and circumcised his two sons aged five and two respectively.

For the operation, Peter Nyashega (33) used a nail-cutter, a move which exposed the innocent kids to infection as the nail-cutter was not sterilised.

According to online sources, if circumcision is not done properly there are risks associated with it, among them bleeding and infection at the site of the circumcision, irritation of the glands, increased risk of meatitis (inflammation of the opening of the male organ) and risk of injury to the male organ.

Besides the nail-cutter surgery, Nyashega is alleged to have severely assaulted the two minors leaving them with injuries.

However, the long arm of the law caught up with Nyashega who has since been hauled before Mutare magistrate Mrs Annie Ndiraya facing charges of abusing his children as defined in Section 7(1) of the Children Act, Chapter 5.06 (ill-treatment or neglect of children).

Nyashega was remanded out of custody on a $50 bail, awaiting trial on November 27.

As part of his bail conditions, Nyashega was ordered not to change his residential address and to report every Friday at the nearest police station.

Mrs Ndiraya also advised him to either seek legal representation or prepare his own defence.

It was the State's case led by Mr Brian Goto that Nyashega allegedly assaulted and circumcised his children on November 2.

The matter came to light when one of Nyashega's neighbours decided to visit him and saw the children crying with injuries on their faces and hands.

He decided to report the matter to the police who instituted investigations leading to his arrest.

The court heard that sometime in September, Nyashega divorced his wife due to domestic violence and she went away with the two children.

She later returned and dumped the children at Nyashega's house. Nyashega has been staying with the children ever since.

"The accused is always at loggerheads with his neighbours and relatives and does not allow his children to play with others. He locks them up in his kitchen hut on a daily basis and they use a bucket for a toilet. He also assaulted them and they sustained injuries and a medical report can be produced in this court to confirm these allegations," said Mr Goto.

"On November 2 at around 9am, Nyashega called the complainants into his room and he removed the elder child's shorts and took a nail-cutter and cut his foreskin with the intention of circumcising him, thereby causing serious injuries before doing the same to the younger child (two). The eldest child is five.

"He then left them locked in the kitchen while going to the shops. His neighbour arrived when he was not around and managed to break into the kitchen where the children were writhing in pain and crying," added Mr Goto.

In a statement recorded by the police, the two minors said they were subjected to daily beatings by their father if they messed up the kitchen and that he used a nail-cutter to cut their foreskins.

In his defence, Nyashega said he did not use a nail-cutter to cut their foreskins, but merely ''opened'' them as that was not done by their mother.

"I noticed that their foreskins had not been opened when I was bathing them, so I merely opened them with my hands. I only lock them in the kitchen when I am going to fetch water or going to the shops as we live a distance from neighbours.

"I think they fell, a reason they have injuries on their faces and hands," said Nyashega.