A Chivhu woman allegedly killed her four children yesterday afternoon after a dispute with her husband by slitting their throats before setting the family home on fire, taking poison and handing herself over to the police.
Emelda Marazani (29) reportedly killed the children aged
nine, five, three and one after her husband Lameck Brande (43) left for work.
The eldest two were tied with a rope before being killed with a knife and then
the other two were knived to death.
Marazani is battling for her life at Chivhu General
Hospital after she attempted suicide by drinking a yet to be identified poison.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi said after setting the house on fire, Emelda handed herself over to
police but she had already taken the poison in a suicide bid. Police were still
investigating the deaths at 4171 Highview Suburb.
Summarising what police believe happened, Asst Com Nyathi
said: “The suspect Emelda Marazani had a marital dispute with her husband
Lameck Brande and when the husband left for work in the morning, the suspect
locked the children aged nine, five, three and one in the house. She took a
rope and tied the two elder children before slitting open their throats with a
knife. The suspect went on to kill the other two children with the knife before
setting the house on fire.”
Neighbours saw the smoke and asked her what was going on
but she assured them that all was well.
Neighbour Mr Daniel Machoni said he and others rushed to
the house after they saw smoke billowing through the roof. “When I got to the
house, I saw my friend’s wife locking the gate and I asked her what was going
on to which she simply said all was in order. My suspicions grew when I checked
the yard and I could not see the children.
“After she locked the gate, she walked a few metres and
started to sprint, that is when I got suspicious. Together with other
neighbours, we jumped the fence. By that time, the husband had arrived and we
managed to break the burglar bars since all doors were locked. The husband went
in through the window and tried to pull out the children, that is when he
discovered that they were all dead with their throats slit.”
Another neighbour, Mr Iven Muchesa, said he was alerted to
the incident by a fellow neighbour and rushed to the scene.
“We helped the father of the children to break the burglar
bars. The children were in separate rooms. The elder ones were burnt beyond
recognition while the bodies of the other two were removed from the house
unburnt. All the property was burnt. We had to connect some hose pipes to put
out the fire. We are still in shock.”
Another neighbour said Marazani had also tried to burn one
of the family’s vehicles parked in the garage but failed. Herald
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