Tragedy in Penhalonga as 4-Year-Old Boy Drowns in Disused Sewage Plant
In a heartbreaking incident, a four-year-old boy from Old Mutare in Penhalonga drowned in a disused sewage plant on Wednesday.
Child Identified as Takudzwa Mugwede
Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, confirmed the tragedy to ManicaPost.
They identified the deceased as Takudzwa Mugwede.
According to police, the young boy had left home around 9am to play with a friend of the same age.
However, when he had not returned home by 3pm, his grandmother began to worry.
Friend Reveals Harrowing Details
The grandmother questioned Takudzwa’s playmate, who disclosed that Takudzwa had remained behind, playing at the abandoned sewage plant.
Alarmed by the revelation, the grandmother rushed to the site — only to find Takudzwa’s lifeless body floating in the plant’s river.
Police Respond and Post-Mortem Ordered
ZRP Penhalonga officers were called to the scene and assisted in retrieving the body.
It was later transported to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, where a post-mortem will be conducted.
ECD Teacher Arrested for Culpable Homicide After Tragic Drowning of 3-Year-Old Pupil
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher was arrested and charged with culpable homicide following the tragic drowning of a three-year-old pupil at a Harare school.
The teacher, Martha Karonda Rice (50) of Rugare suburb, appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court facing one count of culpable homicide.
The charge arises from a drowning incident that occurred on Tuesday, 3 June 2025, at St Anne’s Primary School in Mabelreign, where she is employed.
According to the state, Karonda Rice was the only adult responsible for supervising seven ECD pupils but allegedly left them unattended to walk to the main school building.
Prosecutors also claim she failed to secure the gate leading to the swimming pool, leaving it open and accessible.
During her absence, three-year-old Elroy Tinayeishe Mutandiro is believed to have wandered into the pool area unnoticed and drowned. When he was found, he was unresponsive, and all attempts to resuscitate him failed.
The matter was reported to the police, and Karonda Rice was arrested the following day.
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