A 53-year-old resident from Chivi village outside Beit Bridge burnt his four-year-old niece’s private parts with a burning log as punishment for eating his share of meat.

Solomon Mudhombo appeared in court on Friday on assault charges. He was slapped with an effective four-month jail term after he was found guilty of assaulting the minor by Magistrate Francis Mapfumo.

Mudhombo was initially sentenced to 10 months in prison, but five months were suspended on condition of good behaviour. Another month was also suspended on the grounds that he is not in good health.

It was testified that in July this year, Mudhombo beat the four-year-old girl after accusing her of eating meat that had been reserved for him by his wife. The victim had been served rice with soup as Mudhombo’s wife asserted that meat was the preserve of the elderly. He assaulted the girl, his brother’s daughter, with a stick all over her body, resulting in her head, legs and body becoming swollen.

The court further heard that the minor’s biological father left her in the custody of Mudhombo while he went to South Africa to look for a job.

On another occasion, Mudhombo assaulted the little girl with a stick, knocked her head against the wall and burnt her private parts with a log. The minor sustained a swollen forehead, sores on the head and mouth and burns on her genitals. Mudhombo is also said to have assaulted the minor badly after she had soiled his blankets.

In his ruling, the magistrate said Mudhombo deserved a custodial sentence, because the minor had sustained serious injuries that could be permanent, as was described by a doctor’s report.