Mberengwa Woman Jailed Eight Years After Tongue-Cutting Procedure Kills Toddler

A 43-year-old woman from Mberengwa has been sentenced to an effective eight years in prison after a traditional tongue-cutting procedure she performed on a toddler ended in the child’s death.

Chipiwa Majasi, of Village 3, Kugutakurima under Chief Mposi was convicted of culpable homicide by the High Court sitting in Gweru.

She was sentenced to 10 years in prison with two years suspended on condition of good behaviour, leaving her to serve eight years behind bars.

The court heard that on 5 March, one-year-six-month-old Ruvarashe Mafikeni was at Runyararo Complex in Vanguard, Mberengwa when her mother invited Majasi to the family home.

Majasi had been asked to perform a traditional procedure intended to address what the family described as the child’s speech problem.

According to the court, Majasi used a razor blade to cut the membrane beneath the child’s tongue before leaving the house.

The child later fell asleep but was subsequently found unresponsive at about 14:00.

She was rushed to Mberengwa District Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The incident was reported to the police, leading to Majasi’s arrest.

A post-mortem examination found that the child had died from haemorrhagic shock caused by a lacerated sublingual artery and an injury to the tongue.