THE mother of an 18-year-old Sobukhazi High School girl in Mzilikazi has kept her daughter tied to a chair for past two weeks after she became mentally disturbed and violent when she allegedly found human waste besides her bed.
PRESTIGE GAMA OWN CORRESPONDENT
The Form 4 learner, who stays with her mother in Nguboyenja high-density suburb, is alleged to have gone insane after attempting to clean human excretion she found next to her bed when she woke up one morning.
The girl’s mother Charity Tembo told Southern Eye yesterday that her daughter became mentally disturbed one morning upon waking up and discovering a pile of human waste next to her bed.
“She screamed before calling everyone to come and witness what was next to her bed,” she said.
“We immediately rushed to her bedroom where we found a pile of human faeces.”
“I asked her to clean up the mess and wash the blankets. However, after she had finished washing her blankets, she started behaving like a snake, spitting saliva on the ground while screaming.”
Charity said they informed other relatives, who brought traditional healers to the house.
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The mother said they had tied her daughter to a chair because she became too aggressive and uncontrollable.
She said they were now making arrangements to take her daughter for mental observation and then to a mental hospital.
The girl’s aunt Fatima Tembo said her niece became better following the traditional treatment, but started exhibiting extreme violence in the house a few days later.
“She woke up early in the morning preparing for school. We thought she had recovered fully, but we realised that instead of wearing shoes, she had put on slopes,” she said.
“I then sent her young brother to inform people at school about her condition.”
Neighbours said the girl spends most of her time crying and shouting demanding to be released from her bedroom where her hands and legs are tied to a chair.
Alpheus Ncube, a neighbour, said the girl screams that she wants to go to her grandmother who calls her in her dreams. Ncube expressed concern for the welfare of the girl saying authorities must investigate whether she was really mentally disturbed so that she could get professional care.
“They are abusing the girl because she no longer attends school and we always hear her crying and screaming demanding to be untied,” he said.
“She tries to untie herself and the banging noises affect us as neighbours.”
Ncube also accused the girl’s uncle of ordering her mother to take her to traditional healers instead of seeking professional help since her condition seems to worsen with each traditional healing session.
“The uncle (brother to girl’s mother) is the one who always brings traditional healers to the house saying his niece was bewitched and commands that she not be taken to hospital. This is pure abuse,” he said.
Another neighbour Maria Nkomazana said: “Why are they torturing the girl like that?
“They should just take her to a mental institution. Right now we can’t even sleep because of the noise she makes. For how long are they going to keep her tied up like that? Something has to be done because this is just torture.”
