Man torches family homestead
By Robin Muchetu
A 23-year-old old Lower Gweru man torched his family homestead in a fit of rage over an undisclosed issue on Christmas Day leaving the family homeless and all property destroyed.
The man Mandumi Nhlani of Madinga Village Ward 7 in Vungu who is an artisanal miner (umakorokoza) left for a beer drink at a local watering hole and returned home where he started causing commotion threatening to beat up his family members.
National Assembly Member for Vungu Constituency Cde Omega Sibanda told Sunday News that the incident had sent shock waves across the area as the man had not been provoked.
“He came from a drinking spree and found his grandmother, Mrs Judith Thema sitting with Ronny Nhlano, a brother to Mandumi and his heavily pregnant wife who was cooking in the kitchen. He announced that he wanted to kill people and bury them in a pit.
He then picked up a small child who was near him and threatened to throw him on the ground headlong,” said Cde Sibanda.
He went on; “He then took a pot of stew that was cooking on the fireplace and spilled the contents and this is when the daughter-in-law, MaGumbo ran away and alerted a neighbour of what was happening. This is when Mandumi torched four huts at the homestead and fled.”
Local village boys followed in hot pursuit and only managed to overpower him by cutting off a chunk of flesh from his leg so as to prevent him from attacking people as he was uncontrollable and violent during that time.
The four huts were razed to the ground and all property was destroyed including Presidential Inputs like seed and fertiliser, birth certificates, National Identity documents and also all the clothes and accessories for the unborn baby.
Cde Sibanda said he had to source food from the District Administrators office to assist the big family which was currently housed by Zanu-PF member for the Women’s League in that area, Mrs Rebecca Sibanda-Dube.
He is also appealing to those who can assist to help with clothes and toiletries as the family was left with the clothes they were wearing.
Cde Sibanda bemoaned the high rate of crime in his constituency saying the youth need to be productive in order to avoid engaging in criminal activities.
Cde Sibanda urged the Vungu Rural District Council to take serious considerations when issuing liquor licences as some businesspeople were selling alcohol to minors.
“Adults can drink, we do not mind but it becomes a challenge when we see 10-year-olds being allowed to buy and consume alcohol by the operators. Again we find bottle stores opened as early as 6am to 2am the next day, the operating times must be revised and stuck to,” he pleaded.
The MP further said it was important to ensure that people do not carry machetes, knobkerries and knives when they move around as they then use them to commit heinous crimes.
Cde Sibanda also said many youths were committing suicide and murder very often which he said was worrying as they are spending a lot of time attending to funerals of the very young instead of focusing on developmental issues. Sunday News.
