Pregnant woman dies at a shrine – her grandmother accuses her family of trying to conceal her death

A FAMILY is being accused of attempting to hide the death of its daughter who allegedly died from pregnancy-related complications at a shrine in Goromonzi.

Roseline Tamary Takawira, 24, died last month.

Her family are members of an Apostolic sect.

Her death has exposed deep divisions within the family, with her grandmother now demanding answers and justice over the circumstances surrounding her granddaughter’s daughter.

Sources say her parents and church elders tried to conceal the death to try and avoid medical and legal scrutiny.

Roseline’s life had been marked by conflict and control from an early age.

She was allegedly married off at just 16, into a polygamous union, which was sanctioned by elders in the apostolic sect, a move that did not sit down well with her grandmother, Enita Moyo.

She intervened, rescued the teenage girl and took her to Bulawayo to pursue an education.

“My granddaughter was forced into marriage when she was still a child.

“I took her away from that situation because I wanted her to have a future.

“I enrolled her at a local school where she defied the odds, completing her A-Levels.

“We had a mutual understanding that she would go to university but when a local programme fell through, her parents took her back to Murehwa,” a grieving Moyo told B-Metro.

She added:

“They promised me they would support her education and give her a better life.

“But things changed.

According to the grandmother, tensions resurfaced when Roseline refused to fully submit to the family’s Apostolic sect doctrines, leading to her being labelled a “black sheep”.

“She was pushed back into that same marriage she had escaped from,” she said.

Roseline later fell pregnant again and it is alleged that she began experiencing serious complications, including seizures and high blood pressure.

Despite her deteriorating health, the family claims she was denied access to formal medical treatment due to religious beliefs.

“She needed urgent medical attention but we were told the church does not allow hospital visits. They insisted on prayers,” she said.

Roseline was eventually taken to a shrine in Goromonzi where she died.

“We believe she was not given the medical care she needed.

“She was very ill but nothing was done, except prayers,” said Moyo.

The situation allegedly worsened after her death, with the family accusing church members of taking full control of the burial process.

“We were not allowed to participate in her burial as a family. Everything was handled by the church leadership,” Moyo said.

“We were left in the dark about what really happened.” She alleges that no post-mortem was conducted to establish the cause of death.

She said attempts were allegedly made by some family elders to remove the foetus but failed.

“It was a traumatic and inhumane situation,” she said.

Moyo said they were being denied access to Roseline’s grave.

“We are being denied the chance to visit her grave freely. It is like they are hiding something,” she said.

“All we want is justice. She deserved a proper life and dignity even in death.”

Efforts to get a comment from Roseline’s parents were unsuccessful, as they declined to discuss the matter.

They reacted with hostility.

Questions sent via WhatsApp had not been responded to by the time of publication.

The man who is said to have married her, Elton Ghuveya, denied marrying her.

“I wasn’t married to her, that’s all lies,” he said. “I was not around during her death, so I don’t know anything about it. You0 can ask other relatives.” – _*HMetro*_