A three-year-old boy was killed in Hobhouse suburb yesterday morning after his mother allegedly stabbed him multiple times in a violent attack, police have confirmed.

Authorities identified the suspect as Netsai Chikuni (39), who is accused of killing her son, Ngonidzashe Njerera, in a knife assault that left the child with several wounds to the head and neck. Chikuni was arrested at the scene.

Police said the incident began when Chikuni, originally from Chisumbanje Village under Chief Garahwa in Chipinge, arrived at her brother Admire Chilamwita’s house and found it occupied by tenants. Witnesses told police that she appeared agitated and forcibly entered the home before the situation escalated.

According to residents, tenants attempted to restrain Chikuni but were unable to do so due to her extreme aggression. They reported that she seemed to be in severe distress. Police say she also stabbed herself in the legs and hands before collapsing beside her son’s body.

Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, confirmed the case and said Chikuni “appeared to be in a state of frenzy” during the attack. He added that the motive behind the killing was still unknown, and investigations are ongoing.

Police reports indicate that on the night of the incident, Chikuni borrowed a gas cooker from a tenant, Shava, to prepare supper. After the meal, she and her son stayed in the dining room near Shava’s bedroom. Around 1am, she began banging violently on the bedroom door, prompting Shava’s brother, Chinyengetere, to check on her, but he retreated and locked himself inside after failing to communicate with her due to her aggression.

Assistant Inspector Chinyoka said:

“After about five minutes, Shava heard Chikuni shouting at her child, saying: ‘Idya chingwa ukuda kundiurayisa’. She also heard Chikuni assaulting Ngonidzashe, but did not come out because she was afraid. After about two hours, the child stopped crying, but Chikuni continued shouting. Around 4am, the informant called Chilamwita and other neighbours.”

Police officers who attended the scene found the child lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds to the head and neck. Two bloodstained kitchen knives were next to his body, and Chikuni was discovered lying beside him, bleeding from self-inflicted cuts.

“Another tenant, Blessing Chinyama, peeped through the broken door and saw the boy on the floor,” Assistant Inspector Chinyoka said. “Shava made a police report. Chikuni was arrested and investigations are underway.”

A tenant who spoke to The Manica Post on condition of anonymity described the event as traumatic and said they were still struggling to come to terms with it.

“She was appearing confused, depressed and possessed when she came here,” the tenant said. “She forcibly entered the house. We tried to stop her and insisted we needed permission from the landlord, but she ignored us. She took a bath and later started making noise.”

The tenant said the violence escalated late into the night.

“Around 11pm, we heard her smashing her son on the walls until he stopped crying. She stabbed him on the head and blood splashed all over the walls and kitchen furniture. She was shouting: ‘Makandiuraya, ndakaurayiwa…’ She was so violent and no one could stop her. We are in shock.”

Mother Arrested After Three-Year-Old Son Is Fatally Stabbed in Hobhouse

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