Online Reporter
IN a shocking case, Judith Machao (69) of Buhera has come forward with an astonishing claim: her husband, Canisio Machao, presumed dead and buried in 2011, is in fact alive.
Judith claims her husband’s family, in collusion with Canisio, orchestrated an elaborate ruse to trick her into believing he had passed away.
She recounted an extraordinary encounter with her supposedly deceased husband in Murambinda in January this year, over a decade after she had attended his “funeral”.
Her allegations suggest a sinister motive to deprive her of the house they had built together in Glen View 7, Harare.
The heartbroken woman is convinced her in-laws went to great lengths to dispossess her of the property, knowing her husband was still alive.
“I arrived in Gutu days after his purported burial, as I was staying with my mother in Buhera at the time of his alleged demise. It was my daughter who informed me of his passing away, prompting me to travel to Gutu to pay my condolences.
“However, my father-in-law and relatives failed to show me his grave, claiming they would do so during his memorial service (nyaradzo), which, to date, has not been held,” she explained.
The elderly woman recounted her astonishment at encountering Canisio in Murambinda at the beginning of this year.
She had travelled to Murambinda to retrieve her marriage certificate from the Registry Office, intending to use it in court to reclaim the Glen View 7 house she says was rightfully hers.
The house, which she claims was built brick-by-brick through their joint efforts, was seized by her brother-in-law, Peter Machao, a few weeks after the 2011 purported funeral.
“I never imagined I would lay eyes on him again. I thought I was losing my mind when I saw him at Murambinda. I had gone to collect our marriage certificate from the Registry Office, as I wanted to use it to regain possession of our matrimonial house,” she said.
“He approached and instructed me to return home to Glen View 7, promising to deliver the certificate to me. I informed him that I was being denied access to the house, but he assured me he would resolve the issue.”
She says Canisio confessed to having been in prison all those years and instructed her to go back to their matrimonial home and wait for his return.
However, it has now been five months and Canisio is yet to fulfil his promise.
“He just told me that he had been in prison all these years and that I should forget everything and go back home. I was not hallucinating. I recall everything that I saw and did that day in Murambinda. My husband is alive,” she insisted, adding that she now firmly believes the 2011 “funeral” was a trick.
She suspects Canisio’s disappearance was a ploy to deprive her of their shared house.
“It was all a setup so that they could grab everything that we worked for. He denied me access to the property even before his purported death. All along I was staying in the rural areas,” she said.
Judith vehemently disputed suggestions that she might have been hallucinating.
She produced a death certificate for Canisio, which indicates he passed away in 2011, and, curiously, that he was a widower.
The death certificate, issued on November 8, 2022, shows that Canisio died on November 7, 2011, at Harare Central Hospital.
Her niece, Nyevero Chinoona, said no one else besides Judith has claimed to have met Canisio since his “death” in 2011.
“We only heard that my uncle had passed away, but strangely, no one knows where he was laid to rest. My aunt had to obtain his death certificate from the Registry Office,” she said.
“The incident in January was both frightening and shocking — my aunt is convinced that it was indeed her late husband she saw, and who are we to question her? She does not suffer from dementia or any mental illness.”
She suggested it could have been the spirit of the departed that appeared to her aunt.
However, Judith remains resolute, stating that she has already initiated legal proceedings to reclaim the house.
“This is not just about a house, it is about justice. I have been silent and homeless for 14 years, while they were benefitting from the fruits of my labour. This should stop,” she said.
Judith’s daughter, Sylvia, confirmed that Canisio had indeed passed away in 2011.
“When he died, he was a widower, as his second wife had predeceased him. They had three children together. He had divorced my mother long before his death, which explains why his death certificate states he was a widower. Canisio is late; we buried him. She is confused and needs help. She should stop disturbing the dead,” said Sylvia.
Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (Zinatha) president George Kandiero suggested what Judith witnessed could have been an apparition of her deceased husband rather than his physical appearance.
“They have his death certificate and all accounts confirm that the man is indeed dead. It is possible that what she saw was his ghost or spirit.
“Such sightings occur, especially if some rituals were performed at the grave by family members,” he said.
“Another possibility is that Mbuya Machao is experiencing hallucinations of her late husband, which might lead her to believe he is still alive.
In some cases, such visions are believed to be caused by malevolent forces; people with ill intentions placing a curse on her so that she appears mentally unstable. To some, she might appear mentally unstable, but that could be a curse at play,” he added. — Manica Post
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Wife accused of using urine in husband’s food
A Harare couple’s marriage is on the brink of collapse amid shocking claims.
Artwell Matemera alleges his wife, Winny Johannes, has been mixing his food with urine and keeping bottles of it hidden in their wardrobe.
He also claims his manhood has stopped functioning since this discovery.
Matemera has sought a protection order against Johannes, accusing her of emotional and physical abuse. He told the court that his wife’s strange habits began after he suspected her of cheating.
“I work in Bindura and my wife stays here in Harare. We started having problems after I caught her cheating,” Matemera said.
“She started acting strangely, pouring urine in my food, and I found out she was also mixing urine with an unknown powdered substance.”
He presented a bottle to the court, claiming it contained urine mixed with a powdered substance.
“When I asked her about the bottles I found in our wardrobe, she started insulting me, saying that this is what happens when you have no money,” he recounted.
“She threatened to stab me with a knife, and I fought back and got cut on my hand. Whenever we have sex, she sprinkles an unknown powder on my manhood. She also assaults me and denies me access to my children.”
In her defence, Johannes accused Matemera of mistreating her and bringing girlfriends into their home.
“Yes, the bottle is mine, but I use it to store medicines since I sell herbs,” she claimed.
“He left me while I was pregnant with twins. I confronted him because of his habit of taking my underwear and giving them to his girlfriends. He also told people in our neighbourhood that I had infected him with STIs (sexually transmitted infections).”
Magistrate Meenal Narotam urged the couple to seek counselling before granting Matemera the protection order. — B-Metro
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Mother turns son in for churchgoer’s murder
In an unusual tale, a mother blew the lid off a gruesome murder in Zezani after her son confessed to killing a church-going woman, and begged for money to flee to South Africa.
Marvelous Tlou (21) was found dead in a bush two days after she vanished on her way to church near Whunga Business Centre.
What her family did not know was that she had fallen into the hands of two alleged wolves in sheep’s clothing, Quinton Sibanda (18) and Kamuelo Moyo (20).
The two are said to have pretended to be fellow believers before robbing, raping and butchering her. The killers thought they were in the clear. However, Quinton’s own mother turned the tables.
With guilt gnawing at him, Quinton confessed to his mum, asking for cash to skip the border.
But instead of helping him escape, the brave mother went straight to the police, prompting a dramatic arrest and the recovery of Marvelous’ body, which had been hidden in the bush, just 15 metres off a footpath.
“They strangled her, then stabbed her multiple times with an Okapi knife,” said acting police spokesperson Inspector Stanford Mguni.
“They dragged her body and left it to rot in the bush.”
The gruesome crime occurred on May 9, with arrests following two days later. The suspects have since led police to the scene of the crime.
Inspector Mguni praised the mother’s decisive action, urging others to “report crimes, no matter who the perpetrator is”.
He also issued a warning to women: “Avoid walking alone at night. Move in groups. Predators are lurking.”
Marvelous’ only crime was trying to worship, but thanks to one mother’s unshakable moral compass, justice is on the way. — B-Metro
