And by the time it was sunrise, it was discovered he had
killed six people in cold blood and injured four others from different houses
in the Stone Clair community of Redcliff.
Among his weapons of choice were a spear which he used to
stab some of his victims, while in other cases he used a knife, and in others a
hoe and a sharp object.
His injured victims are still battling for their lives in
hospital, leaving the small community of Stone Clair in shock.
Yesterday, three families were gathered a stone’s throw
away from each other, paying their last respects as they await the bodies to be
ferried from Bulawayo after post mortem.
Each of the three families lost two people, leaving the
entire community disturbed and confused by the turn of events.
Redcliff mayor, Councillor Clayton Masiyatsva, had to go
around consoling the families of the bereaved.
Khoshow went berserk while attending an AApostolic church
all-night vigil on Friday night, uprooting trees, pushing stationary cars and
attacking everyone in his way.
His uncle, Mr Gift Ngwenya, who was present when it all
started at the church all-night vigil, gave an account of the events.
“He started behaving violently the previous day and that is
when we decided to take him to church as we sought for remedy,” he said. “But
during the church service around 3am, that is when all hell broke loose.
“He became so violent and would break trees and uprooted
some smaller ones. It was so scary that everyone ran away as he was so violent
and powerful.”
From the church shrine, Khoshow went to his home where he
did not find his wife and child, and started hunting for them.
“We were aware that the two were having problems lately and
we had to take his wife and child to my place because we feared for their
lives,” said Mr Ngwenya. “He started destroying property before he went to his
wife’s younger sister’s place.”
At his wife’s young sister, Khoshow found Michelle Moyo (8)
and Lucky Moyo (4) sleeping. He struck them with an axe and they died on the
spot.
The two were children to his wife’s younger sister.
They will be buried in Nkayi once the bodies return from
Bulawayo after post mortem.
After that, Khoshow’s next stop was a neighbouring house
where he jumped the precast wall and attacked the house owner, a police
officer, with a spear.
The police officer is said to be in a stable condition at
Kwekwe General Hospital.
From there, Khoshow went to another house, a few metres
away. On arrival, he axed to death the house owner, Xolani Sikwili (33) and his
7-month-old daughter, Lerato.
The wife escaped with head injuries and is battling for
life.
Nqobani Sikwili, brother to Xolani, narrated how it all
happened.
“I am told that he came and knocked on the door and upon
opening, he struck him (Nqobani) with an axe on the head. He also stabbed him
on the neck with a spear.
“He headed to the bedroom where he found Nqobani’s wife
holding the baby and he stabbed the baby with a knife. The woman was struck
with a sharp object all over the body and head. She is in hospital as we
speak.”
Two other children who were in the other room together with
the maid were lucky to survive as Khoshow probably was not aware of their
presence.
Sikwili and his daughter will be buried in Redcliff.
Khoshow then headed back home where he found Meggie Nkiwane
(85) and her daughter Lina Moyo (56) sleeping. He attacked them with a hoe and
they both died on the spot.
Moyo’s son, a police officer based in Harare, said he was
still in shock.
“They called me on the night telling me that Khoshow was
behaving violently,” he said. “I tried to look for Redcliff police (phone)
number to no avail. The following morning, I then received a call notifying me
of the disaster. It is so painful to lose your loved ones this way.”
Police were called in and arrested Khoshow.
Cllr Masiyatsva said the community was stunned by the
horrific incident.
“We are still in shock,” he said. “This is not easy to
comprehend, but as a council we are doing all we can to assist those affected.
“We are offering free graves to those families that intend
to bury their loved ones in Redcliff. We are also giving food hampers to assist
at the funeral wake as they wait for post mortem results.”
A cleansing ceremony is also on the cards, said Cllr
Masiyatsva.
“We want to hold a cleansing ceremony because the rate at
which people are dying in the area is becoming scary,” he said.
“In one week, we received several reports of mishaps. We
had a Form 2 pupil committing suicide in Torwood, another drowned in Cactus Dam
and another one was involved in a car accident and died on the spot.
“Then we have this one, all in one week. So, we intend to
hold a cleansing ceremony anytime soon.” Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment