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Daniel Nemukuyu : Senior Court Reporter

A primary school teacher from Mudzi, who was jailed for five years for unlawfully drawing blood from 21 pupils for unknown reasons, will now serve her prison term after the Supreme Court threw out her appeal. Caroline Zhuwau (39) pricked the pupils using a needle before storing the blood samples in some plastic containers between January and September 2013.The High Court last year sentenced Zhuwau to five years in prison. Three years were conditionally set aside, leaving the woman to serve an effective two-year prison term.

Zhuwau appealed against both conviction and sentence at the Supreme Court.

She was also granted bail pending determination of her appeal.

Last week, Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba, sitting with Justices Susan Mavangira and Chinembiri Bhunu, struck the challenge off the court roll after finding some defects in the papers.

Mrs Sharon Fero from the National Prosecuting Authority represented the State in the case while Mrs Monalisa Ushe appeared for Zhuwau.

The latest development means the conviction and sentence still stand.

The woman drew blood from pupils at Musau and Singa primary schools, where she served as a temporary teacher between January and September 2013.

All the 21 pupils told the court that Zhuwau would call them separately into her classroom on different dates at break time where she would ask them to stand in a queue as she pricked each of them with a needle, drawing blood from their fingers and shoulders.

After drawing the blood, the court heard, Zhuwau would store the blood in bottles and threaten the pupils with assault and death if they reported the incidents to their parents.

However, Zhuwau’s luck ran out on September 19 the same year when one of her victims was tasked to open a cattle pen but failed to do so due to pain on his fingers.

Upon being quizzed over what had happened, the boy told his sister that Zhuwau had pricked and extracted blood from his fingers.

The matter was then reported to the police, leading to Zhuwau’s arrest. The other children then opened up and filed separate reports to the police.

Initially, Zhuwau appeared before a Mutoko magistrate facing 21 counts of contravening Section 19 (1) (a) of the Anatomical Donations and Post-Mortem Examinations Act, which criminalises removing tissue from the bodies of living persons or alternatively 21 counts of assault.

She was, however, convicted on 21 counts of assault, but the magistrate could not sentence her due to lack of jurisdiction and the matter was referred to the High Court for sentence.