BY AWAKHIWE KHUMALO
The father of a 11 year- old Victoria Falls girl who committed suicide has revealed some shocking information where he alleges that his daughter was a rape case victim.
Patience Happiness Chishemu, a grade five student at Mpumelelo Primary School in Bulawayo committed suicide by hanging herself on a tree in her Njube residency on Sunday afternoon.
The deceased’s father, Mike Chishemu told VICFALLSLIVE in an interview at his Chinotimba residency in Victoria Falls that his third born child was a victim of sexual abuse by a feared serial gangster in Bulawayo.
“Patience visited me here in December last year, and she told me that she needed to talk to me in private,” Chishemu narrated his suspicion of his daughter’s decision to take away her life.
“We went to the bedroom and she revealed that she had been raped in 2021 and she was advised by a close family member (name withheld for ethical reasons) not to say anything because the person who had raped her was very dangerous and might harm her”
“l the contacted her mother to try and find out about what had happened, her mother confirmed the incident and said they must not do anything because the person who raped Patience was a serial rapist and a killer but has never been convicted,”
“She was raped again this year by a tenant who lived with her in March and she was unwell after and we had to take her to the hospital,”
Chishemu said they reported the matter to the police and the man was arrested, although he was released after a few days due to lack of evidence.
“Patience was then taken by an organization that deals with child care and she lived there for about four months where she had been offered psychological therapy, but had clearly not healed.
Way forward:
“It’s very hard for me to let this go because l have lost a child,” teary Chishemu said as the family prepared to lay her to rest on Thursday last week.
“We will go back to police after this to seek a new investigation into her rape cases and to find out how these people who raped my child are still not in jail.”
What we know so far about Patience’s last Sunday:
“Patience’s mother is working as a vendor at a market in Entumbane complex, so I was told that her mother had asked her to bring her food which she did not do,”Chishena revealed.
“The mother went back home at around 12pm and found Patience playing with her other friends. In anger, she beat her with a cooking stick then told her again to bring her food to the market.
“At around 3pm, two children from the neighborhood went to the market and told her that patience has hung herself on a tree.”
Chishemu said when his ex-wife arrived at the scene, she took a knife and she used it to cut the rope that she had used to hang herself, before attempting to render first aid.
“She went on to look for a taxi to take her to the hospital, but an ambulance passed by and the paramedics tried to assist, but confirmed that she had been deceased.
According to the post-mortem results, the girl died due to suffocation.