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four toddlers drowned in four separate incidents bringing the number of toddlers who drowned since January this year to 23.

Mashonaland Central provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Petros Masikati confirmed the death of the four and urged parents and guardians to take extra care of their children to avoid such cases.

“We received four cases of drowning this week and what worries us most is that all those people who drowned are toddlers, a clear indication that parents are not taking extra care of their children,” he said.

The first incident occurred in Chiweshe where a one-and-a-half-year-old infant from Shopo village drowned in a well after following her aunt who was watering a garden. It is alleged that on June 10 at around 11am the infant’s aunt Loveness Ngandu (27) left the toddler in the house while she went to water the garden. As she was busy watering the garden it is reported that the infant proceeded to where she was fetching water.

Ngandu only discovered the toddler had left the house when she had finished watering. She went back to the well where she found her floating in the well.

On the same day another incident occured at Madhalo Farm in Centenary where a three-year-old toddler drowned in a well after following her mother Florence Kamonze (38) who was watering a garden.

On June 12 another three-year-old male toddler from Kasirori village under Chief Chipuriro in Guruve who was in the company of his four-year-old friend drowned after following his uncle to the garden where he slipped and fell into an open well.