Christmas Day beans lands woman in jail
Police in Ndirande Township, Blantyre, have arrested a 30-year-old woman for allegedly burning her five-year-old son’s hands for allegedly stealing beans she saved as meal on Christmas Day.
Ndirande Police spokesperson, Edna Mzingwitsa, identified the woman as Ida Chagunda.
“The incident occurred at Malaysia [a location in Ndirande] in the township. The boy was brought to Ndirande Police by well-wishers on December 28 2019 after noticing that the woman was hiding the burnt son in the house,” she said.
Mzingwitsa said Chagunda got angry with the boy when she found out that all the beans had been finished by the boy.
“She put a knife on fire and when it heated up, she placed it in the child’s hands as a form of punishment. The boy was then taken to the hospital for medical assistance,” she said.
Mzingwitsa said Chagunda has been charged with acts intending to cause grievous harm, which is contrary to Section 235 (a) of the Penal Code and will appear before court soon.
Chagunda hails from Nsikija Village, Traditional Authority Nkanda in Mulanje District.
In October 2019, Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Minister Mary Navicha called for the protection of children in the country amid growing abuse, further condemning posting of pictures on social media of such abuses.
“It should be noted that my Ministry has engaged in several legal and policy reforms aimed at reducing cases of child rights violations. These include the enactment of Child Care Protection and Justice Act (2010), the Trafficking in Persons Act (2015), the signing of the commitment to eliminate child marriages and fighting violence against children like defilement, rape, child labour, child trafficking, child prostitution and pornography,” Navicha said.
