A family in Watsomba is facing a heartbreaking situation as their 9-month-old baby undergoes a mysterious transformation, with his face slowly developing the features of an elderly man. Japhet Chinyanga and Rutendo Nyamutata, the baby’s parents, say the unsettling change began when their son was just five months old, initially starting as a minor rash before progressing into premature wrinkling and an aged appearance.
“It was like watching our son age rapidly before our eyes,” an emotional Chinyanga told Manica Post.
Worried for their child’s health, the couple sought medical help at Sally Mugabe Hospital, where doctors ran a series of tests. Despite the visible changes, medical professionals assured the parents that the baby was physically healthy. However, this did little to ease their concerns as the child’s condition continued to deteriorate—his breathing became labored, and his appetite significantly decreased.
With no clear medical explanation, the desperate parents turned to traditional healers. Their anxiety grew when some healers suggested that witchcraft or ancestral spirits might be responsible for the transformation.
“One healer told us that someone had cursed our baby. Another said it was our ancestral spirits, angry over something we had failed to do, and that they demanded appeasement,” Chinyanga explained.
Caught between medical and spiritual interpretations, the family is now seeking financial assistance for further medical tests. A professor at the University of Zimbabwe suspects the child may have a congenital heart defect and has recommended a CT scan and an echocardiogram, but the couple cannot afford the US$500 required for the tests.
“We just want to know if this is a medical condition. If it is, we will do everything in our power to get him the help he needs,” the parents pleaded.