BY KENNETH NYANGANI

A 31-YEAR-OLD Mutare woman killed herself and her son by lacing their food with rat poison citing economic hardships.

Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident yesterday.

Sheilla Mamera was found dead on Friday morning together with her 12-year-old son, Fidelis Mamera, a Grade 5 pupil.

Kakokwa said on August 2, Mamera and her son were discovered in the morning by one of her children, who reported the matter to Marymount Police Station.

A sachet of rat killer and a pot of rice were found at the scene.

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“There was also a suicide note which said she had killed herself due to economic hardships, but she did not say which economic hardships,” he said.

Meanwhile, a fishing escapade ended tragically after a 13-year-old girl drowned in Chipinge last Friday.

Police confirmed the death of Angela Simango, from Chief Musikavanhu area in Chipinge, who drowned while trying to catch a fish at Nyamukunge River.

Kakohwa said on August 2, the now-deceased was in the company of her friend Rudo Chingizana.

While in the river, Simango followed a fish into a cave on the river and her hand was trapped.

Simango signalled for help to her friend, who rushed back home and alerted the now-deceased’s uncle, Bernard Sithole, who rushed to the river.

Sithole, however, failed to rescue Simango and rushed back to the village and alerted a traditional healer Magumo Mudimu who performed rituals at the scene before retrieving her body.