Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Remember Deketeke, Herald Correspondent
AFTER a protracted 17-day battle between divorced parents over burial arrangements, 8-year-old Tinofara Muzavazi was finally buried last Sunday.
The boy drowned while swimming in a pond after school on February 18, and his parents faced difficulties in arranging his burial owing to a family conflict, since the boy died at his stepfather’s home.
The boy’s parents divorced and the mother remarried in Juru, Murehwa District, while the father continued living in Guruve.
In his profound grief over his son’s drowning, the father found himself questioning, as many before him had done without proof, whether foul play was involved.
In despair, he lamented his inability to afford the bus fare to travel to Juru for the burial, highlighting the stark reality of financial burdens that often accompany personal loss.
This situation underscores the emotional complexity of mourning, the instinct to seek answers in tragedy, and the practical difficulties that can complicate the grieving process.
However, his position changed following an article published by The Herald on Saturday.
Mr Thomas Mapfumo (not legendary Chimurenga Musician), the brother of the boy’s mother, thanked The Herald for its help in breaking the impasse.
“I would love to thank you for helping us bury my nephew, which was not possible without you putting us in the spotlight,” he said. After the article appeared in The Herald, the father reached out to the family to discuss how much it would cost to transport the body from the mortuary at Murehwa centre to the family homestead at Juru.
Speaking at the burial, Ward 7 Councillor Chriswell Chipuriro urged the community to respect the deceased and avoid using burial arrangements to settle disputes.
“Such actions undermine the dignity of the departed and exacerbate conflicts within the community,” he said.
The body arrived from Murehwa around 5pm on Sunday, and the burial was conducted hastily due to the rain.
A source said the funeral was attended by about 50 people, including 11 members from the family of the dead child’s mother.
“It was a touching moment for the community when the coffin of the toddler arrived considering we had waited for long before the burial.
We are grateful to The Herald for publishing our story; finally, the body of the child has been laid to rest three weeks after his death,” said the source.
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