Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A MUTASA woman, Mbuya Lucia Mundodzi, has dragged her stepson, Jacob Sanyanga, before Chief Mutasa’s community court, demanding an end to his persistent accusations that she is a witch responsible for the death of his three month old child.
The bitter dispute, which has strained family ties for the past four years, was heard this week, with Mundodzi testifying that she could no longer endure the damaging allegations.
Mundodzi, the younger wife in a polygamous marriage, told the court that suspicion had haunted her since the night the infant died. She said she wanted the truth established once and for all to clear her name.
She pleaded with the court to order Sanyanga to stop branding her a witch, insisting the accusations had caused her immense suffering and fractured family relations. “It has been four years now. The child died and we helped bury him, but that same night, around 11pm, my stepson came to my house shouting that I had killed the baby. He was accompanied by angry mob, challenging me to come out. I refused because I feared for my life. They wanted to assault me, claiming that I had killed the child,” said Mundodzi, adding that the confrontation left her shaken.
“I called my elderly father, and told him that people were accusing me of witchcraft, and he told me to report the matter to the police the next day. The angry mob later left, but they threatened to come back. I later left around 4am for my father’s home in Watsomba. He insisted that we should report the issue to the police, but I refused because I knew that if Sanyanga was picked up by police, I would be in trouble with his associates. However, since then, my life has been so unbearable.
“I cannot live freely in my own home. They claim that I killed my step-grandchild, and it has tarnished my name,” she said, tears welling down her cheeks.
Jacob Sanyanga did not deny that tensions arose after the baby’s death, but insisted that his suspicion was based on events leading up to the tragedy.
He told the court the issue stemmed from a dispute after his father misplaced some money and Mundodzi allegedly blamed his wife.
“She kept saying my wife had taken the money. I told her I would replace it, but she refused, and warned us that the matter would not end with just talking. What she said, ‘nyaya iyi haiperi nemuromo’ felt like a threat,” he said.
Sanyanga said the baby’s sudden death only hours after that tense exchange left everyone stunned.
“The child was not ill. We were shocked. After what she had said earlier, then the baby dying so suddenly, it raised suspicions in the family,” he said.
He added that because rumours were circulating, the Johane Marange Apostolic Church intervened and requested that Mundodzi be spiritually examined by prophets to clear the matter.
“The church asked her to come so everything could be tested spiritually, but she refused. She never went, and later she stopped attending church. To us, it looked like she did not want to be exposed,” he said.
Mundodzi disputed that claim, telling the court that she remains a member of the church and never left because of the examination request.
“I am still a devoted church member. I only took a break this year. I did not run away from anything,” she said, maintaining that she did not harm the child and her stepson’s accusations had gone too far.
She asked the court to compel him to stop spreading claims that she killed the baby. Chief Mutasa noted that the matter had dragged on for years without any resolution.
He ordered the family to return to their church so that spiritual leaders could handle the matter in line with their beliefs.
“Sanyanga, if you are accusing your stepmother of killing your child when she did not do it, that is wrong. Once the church clears her, you will be punished here for making false accusations,” he said.
He also directed Mundodzi to comply with the church’s request for examination. “Go back and present yourself for examination so that everything is clarified. If it is confirmed that you did not harm the baby, we expect you to return here,” he said.
Chief Mutasa urged both parties to end the hostility and cooperate with the spiritual process, which he said was necessary to restore order in the family.
