A teenage girl was shot and injured in the thigh while running away from a man who attempted to sexually abuse her at a dam in Empandeni, Mangwe District on Sunday.
Police in Matabeleland South Province confirmed the incident but could not provide specific details on the case.
Empandeni Ward 1 Councillor, Bernard Tshuma told the publication that the girl, who is in Form Four at Empandeni Secondary School, was in the company of her teenage sister when they were attacked. Said Cllr Tshuma:
I was called by the Empandeni school headmistress yesterday around 4 PM telling me about the incident.
I then passed through to check on the family. The girls are day scholars at the school, they stay at the cottage with their parents.
They knocked off from school and around 4 PM and said they were going to the dam to take some pictures.
While at the dam, the man pounced on them. He was wearing a red t-shirt, black pants and a black jacket and he was riding a bicycle.
He started fondling one of the girls’ breasts and the other one fled.
The man shouted at her to stop her from running but when she didn’t stop, he fired two shots in the air. The third shot was aimed at the girl and he injured her on the thigh. He said the girl was receiving treatment at a local clinic. Added Cllr Tshuma:
The medical staff attending to her said the bullet tore through and came out on the other side but she will heal. The man has not yet been caught. We do hope that he is caught and justice is served.
We want our environment to be safe for our children, especially the girls.
In other news – Cyclone Freddy: Ministry of education suspends lessons in six provinces
The government has directed that day scholars attending schools in six out of the country’s ten provinces should not attend school on Friday, 24 February 2023 due to Tropical Cyclone Freddy which is approaching the country from Mozambique.
This was revealed in a circular dated 23 February 2023 and addressed to Chief Directors, Head Office Directors, Provincial Education Directors (PEDs), District School Inspectors (DSI), heads of Primary and Secondary schools, principals of independent colleges, staff associations, responsible authorities, Association of Trust Schools and church education secretaries. Learn More
