A woman (34) from Matabeleland North who heroically saved
her three minor children from a fire that razed their bedroom hut, was burnt to
death when the hut caved in on her.
A court heard the fire was started by a neighbour, Philani
Maphosa (25), who was arrested after villagers tracked him to a shopping centre
where he was hiding.
Cynthia Ndlovu of Plot 7, Hambakahle Plots in Inyathi and
her three minor children Sylvester (13), Prisca (12) and Chantel (7) Dube were
asleep when Maphosa allegedly torched their bedroom hut a fortnight ago.
Ndlovu had locked the door from inside when they went to
bed and failed to locate the keys because of smoke that had engulfed the hut.
She grabbed the door and pulled it until there was a gap
just big enough for her children to squeeze through, unhurt.
The court heard she failed to break down the door and was
burnt to death. The three minors rushed to seek help from neighbours who
arrived after the thatched roof had collapsed.
Police opened a murder probe after villagers tracked footprints
to Queen’s Business Centre where they effected a citizen’s arrest on Maphosa of
Exchange Village in the same area.
Maphosa was not asked to plead to murder when he appeared
before magistrate Mr Collen Chiruma at Inyathi Magistrates’ court. He was remanded in custody to Thursday next week.
Circumstances are that Ndlovu and her three children
retired to bed at 8PM on September 20 before they were awakened by the fire
around 3AM.
“At around 3AM when they were asleep, the now deceased
heard the door being shaken from outside as if someone was trying to open it.
She woke up her children and saw a light flashing towards the kitchen hut.
After a short while they noticed that the bedroom hut was on fire.
“The now deceased and her children looked for the keys but
could not find them. She managed to pull the bottom of the door for the kids to
go out,” said the prosecutor Mr Zivanai Hlomayi.
The kids rushed to inform Ms Sibongile Ndlovu who alerted
other neighbours. When the neighbours got to the scene the roof had collapsed.
In the morning villagers tracked footprints that led them
to Queen’s Business Centre about 3km away where they found Maphosa. Upon
searching him, villagers recovered dried meat and some clothes which he had
stolen from the deceased place before torching her homestead.
A pair of shoes whose prints resembled the ones villagers
tracked from Ndlovu’s homestead were recovered in Maphosa’s bag. Chronicle
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