Friday 1 March 2019

GRANDPA KILLED OVER WITCHCRAFT


AN 88-YEAR old man was stoned to death and his body set on fire by his grandson who accused the octogenarian of bewitching him. The shocking incident occurred on Sunday night in Gudyanga Village near Birchenough Bridge.

On Monday morning, villagers woke up to the ghastly sight of the remains of William Danda who died at the hands of his 23-year old grandson Andrew Muchirawetu.

Stones were strewn all over the place while visible deep cuts and blood stains on the deceased’s clothes gave compelling evidence of how Muchirawetu murdered his grandfather in cold blood before setting him on fire.

When The Weekender visited the area on Monday, villagers were still battling to come to terms with the grisly incident. 

Muchirawetu’s uncle Liberty Danda, who was the first to arrive at the scene, narrated how he found the deceased’s body burning.

“I came here early in the morning around 5am after I heard people calling out for help. The house was on fire. On arrival I found the deceased’s body burning. There were several deep cuts on the body.

“It was clear to me that he had been murdered before being set on fire. In fact, he must have been stoned to death because there were stones all over the place. The stones had blood stains which suggested that they had been used to inflict pain on the deceased.  It was a scary sight but I had to put out the fire,” he said.

Liberty said the alleged assailant had a history of mental disorder since he came back from South Africa. He said Muchirawetu did not say anything when they asked him why he had committed the crime.

“Since he came back from South Africa mid last year, he had always been complaining that his grandfather is bewitching him. In fact, he had been showing signs of mental illness.

When I asked him why he had committed the crime, he remained silent. He was not even remorseful,” said Liberty.

Angeline Danda, Andrews’ aunt, said she met the suspect early in the morning. “I was coming from a funeral when I met Andrew along the way. I greeted him and I did not know at that time that he had committed such a heinous crime.

As we talked I discovered he was dirty and had some blood stains on his clothes. “I started suspecting that something was wrong. I persuaded him to come home with me. He initially refused but later agreed.

‘‘Before we even settled at my place, some people came and instantly apprehended him as they accused him of having killed my father,” she said. Manica Post


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