Source: The Herald
A woman has caused a stir in the Temaruru area in Rusape after she set up an "abortion clinic" at her homestead which has resulted in the death of one of her clients and a still birth by another.
Mrs Anna Rundora of Tsandukwa village already has a pending case at the Rusape Magistrates Courts where she is being charged for assisting a married woman, Senzikle Moyo, to terminate her eight months pregnancy.
Mrs Rundora and Moyo both pleaded not guilty to unlawful termination of pregnancy when they appeared before Rusape magistrate Mrs Patience Madondo recently.
They are expected back in court on Friday next week for the opening of their defence case. According to the State papers, the offence was committed on October 10 when Moyo had a misunderstanding with her husband Peter Ruziwa over her pregnancy.
It is alleged that Moyo then visited Mrs Rundora who gave her some herbal medicine for abortion, resulting in her giving birth to a still born baby boy.
The State alleges police got a tip off and they arrested Moyo who implicated Mrs Rundora and they were both taken to the police cells in Rusape.
In the case of Ms Florence Munyebvu, the woman who died after the illegal abortion, her relatives once dumped her at Mrs Rundora's homestead after her health deteriorated.
Ms Munyebvu was buried yesterday in the same village amid an uproar, with her relatives at one point suggesting that her body should be dumped at Mrs Rundora's homestead in protest.
Mrs Rundora did not attend the burial that took place near her homestead.
The villagers alleged that many young girls and married women were secretly visiting Mrs Rundora for abortion and other related services.
One of the men said the practice started a long time ago and that it was promoting promiscuity and the spread of HIV and Aids in the community.
He said they had taken long to report the matter to the police hoping that Mrs Rundora would amend her ways.
"It is now known that unwanted pregnancies are terminated at Tsandukwa village and even married women who have extra-marital affairs go there for assistance," said the man.
"Even our school girls are going there when they are pregnant to ensure they abort so that they continue with their studies."
Ms Faith Zifambi, a relative to the late Ms Munyebvu said at first Mrs Rundora started operating as if she was a midwife until she later became known for administering abortions.
"At first the woman appeared as if she was assisting pregnant women, but later it turned out that people were now flocking there for abortion," she said.
"In the current case, Ms Munyebvu told us she was four months pregnant when she went for abortion and that was done without the knowledge of the Chikandiwa family, her in-laws. Something should be done to restore sanity in our community."
Mrs Rundora said she was indeed working with pregnant women, but was not into carrying out abortions.
"I only assist pregnant women with herbal painkillers. My grandmother was a traditional healer and I used to work with her when I was young and she showed me the pain killers before she died," she said.
"I only help people and I do not abort although there was a case where one woman from Simbabure village who had a miscarriage after I gave her the medicine. I assist pregnant women and in most cases my treatment succeeds, but people in this village are spreading rumours that I am into abortion."
Mrs Rundora said she was going to stop the operations after discovering that the "assistance" was now being criminalised.
"At the moment I am an accused person in another case in which a woman from Ruziwa village aborted," she said.
"She implicated me as an accomplice and I was arrested together with her."
Mrs Rundora said she did not attend Ms Munyebvu's funeral after finding out that she was being framed.