
A dramatic day in which a shameful attempt was made to try to change the birth records of a teenager who died after giving birth to twins has ended with the arrest of the man who raped and impregnated the dead girl last night.
Police intercepted the vehicle transporting the girl’s body to Murehwa for burial, and forced her to return to Highlands Police Station.
This is where Tatenda Janji, the Glenwood man who raped and impregnated teenager Yukai Dandara, who died two weeks after giving birth to twins, was arrested.
Initial reports claimed that Yokai was 14 years old before the story changed last night amid other claims that she was 16 years old.
Her medical records at Sally Mugabe Hospital were altered yesterday to try to give the impression that Yokai was 18 years old.
Tatenda was missing, and some of his relatives insinuated that he had gone into hiding until he showed up at the Highlands Police Station.
He was not with the family when they received Yokai’s body from Sally Mugabe Hospital.
He initially indicated that he was 24 years old, before changing his story to say that he was 22 years old, and when asked to provide his ID card, he claimed that it had been lost on his way to the police station.
Tatenda was released to allow him to bury Yokai, and is expected to report to police on Monday for further questioning.
Alterations were made to records at the hospital to indicate that Yokai was 18 years old.
Some reports last night indicated that a new birth certificate for Yeukai was obtained yesterday.
Yukai Dandara’s original birth certificate was destroyed and a new one claiming to be 18 years old was filed and released yesterday.
H-Metro received calls from women who wanted to help the twins and their guardian Veronica Gangi, Tatenda’s mother.
Medical records in the possession of H-Metro, deposited in the maternity ward of Sally Mugabe Hospital, clearly showed a variable age record, suggesting that medical staff may have been misled by Tatenda Janji’s family or worked with him in groups.
When the Victim Friendly Police Unit team arrived at the hospital, the family had collected Yokai’s body and were on their way to Dendera village in Murehwa.
When H-Metro visited Tatenda’s rented place in Glenwood yesterday, her landlady was angry that he had thrown Yokai’s belongings into the house.
“Are you the man’s brother? Some of you have escaped from here.
“They left the deceased’s clothes scattered and we heard them talking about the need to hide Tatenda.
“They tore the deceased’s original birth certificate and were planning to get another one to obtain a burial order.
“Tatenda has been staying here for the past seven months and has failed to pay rent for the past two months.
“The relatives of the deceased never came here because they are at loggerheads with the Janji family,” the landlady said.
Yokai’s aunt, Everness Dandara, signed the documents for her burial order No. 24/1567.
Medical records showed that Ukai gave birth to twins on January 10 at the Sally Mugabe Maternity Hospital.
She returned to the same hospital on January 24 after suffering complications, and died on January 25.
The children are said to be healthy and are being cared for by Tatenda’s mother. h metro