STAFF WRITER
A MOTHER in Zimbabwe delayed reporting her 16-year-old daughter’s disappearance for more than 24 hours due to a local belief that the girl could have been taken by a mermaid and might be returned alive if the community did not mourn, police have said.
The body of Eunice Moyo of Mukonde village under Chief Mutambara was eventually discovered floating in the Umvumvumvu River in Chimanimani on 2 January, a day after she went missing.
According to Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, the acting provincial police spokesperson, the teenager had gone to the river with two friends to do laundry on New Year’s Day around 1pm. After finishing, the group began swimming.
Eunice vanished in deep water, and her friends were unable to find her.
The friends alerted Eunice’s mother, Silethiwe Moyo, 42, who searched the riverbank unsuccessfully before returning home.
However, she did not inform the police.
“Superstitious beliefs that the girl could have been taken by a mermaid led to her mother’s decision not to make a police report,” Chinyoka said.
The report was finally made after Sophia Magabaza, 43, saw the body floating in the river at around 4pm the following day and contacted authorities.
When recovered, the body showed signs consistent with drowning, including froth at the mouth and nosebleeds. It was taken to Mutambara Mission Hospital mortuary.
The incident has highlighted the powerful influence of traditional beliefs in some rural communities.
In parts of Zimbabwe, mythical water spirits known as njuzu or mermaids are believed to claim people, sometimes returning them alive if certain rituals are observed and public grief is withheld.
Police investigations into the death are continuing.
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