Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A BIZARRE and unsettling incident has left a Mutasa family and their community shaken, after the body of a deceased woman allegedly refused to fit into a coffin at a local funeral parlour.
The strange occurrence forced the family to perform an ancient ritual in the kitchen before the body could finally be laid to rest at their rural home.
The episode is the latest in a string of misfortunes haunting the Sango family of Mutasa.
Over the years, they have endured marital breakdowns, unexplained illnesses, and even a mysterious disappearance—troubles that have driven them to spend thousands of United States dollars consulting traditional healers in search of answers.
Family members trace their woes back to the disappearance of Lennos Sango, a village head who vanished under unclear circumstances decades ago.
A human skull believed to be his was later discovered in the bush and buried, but the family says they never found closure. Since then, they claim, a series of disturbing events has plagued them.
The family is now seeking a court order compelling their father figure, Clava Sango, to join them in consulting traditional healers to address what they believe are spiritual afflictions.
But Clava, who assumed leadership after Lennos’ disappearance, insists he is being unfairly blamed for the family’s troubles.
Testifying before Chief Mutasa’s community court, Clava recounted the chain of misfortunes, including the shocking funeral incident involving his niece.
“My niece, who was married, was brought back by her husband saying she was not feeling well. She later died. But when we tried to bury her, her body could not fit into the coffin at the funeral parlour. It was a very disturbing situation,” he said.
Clava explained that he was instructed to perform rituals in the mother’s kitchen—known locally as pachikuva—to ask for the body to fit.
“After that, she eventually fit in the coffin,” he added, noting that while the ritual resolved the immediate problem, the family was left deeply unsettled and convinced that deeper spiritual issues were at play.
In desperation, the family turned to traditional healer, Shingirai Mukotsanjera, a move that has since sparked further tension within the household.
The case has now drawn the attention of Chief Mutasa’s court, where the family hopes to find clarity and relief from the string of misfortunes that continue to overshadow their lives.
“We called a traditional healer who told us that I was harbouring my late brother’s spirit. He charged us US$2 700 for the consultation,” said Sango, adding that the interpretation of the healer’s message caused divisions within the family, with some members suspecting wrongdoing on his part.
“The rest of the family misunderstood that statement and argued that it meant I had something to do with my brother’s disappearance. I understood it differently, that as the new head of the family, I had inherited the responsibility and spiritual burden,” he said, adding that the situation worsened when the traditional healer allegedly demanded a further US$4 000 for a cleansing ceremony – an amount of money the family is still struggling to raise.
The dispute before Chief Mutasa’s court has seen some family members seeking an order to compel Sango to cooperate in consulting traditional healers to address a series of misfortunes affecting the family.
The Sangos claim that they have been grappling with numerous unexplained challenges, including marital breakdowns, illnesses, and the mysterious disappearance of a key family member.
Sango explained that he assumed responsibility for the family following the disappearance of his brother, Lennos, more than a decade ago.
“These are my late brother’s children. Their fathers have since passed on, and I am now their surviving father figure. My brother, Lennos, disappeared in 2014, and up to now, we do not know what really happened to him,” he said.
He recounted the events surrounding his brother’s disappearance, describing a troubling night that marked the beginning of the family’s misfortunes.
“On the night he went missing, his wife came to me around midnight, and said they had a misunderstanding and he had left home. We waited for him to return, but he never did,” said Sango, adding that despite extensive searches, the family failed to locate him.
“We searched for him everywhere, but we could not find him. It was only later that a hunter discovered a skull in the bush, which we believed to be his. It was said that he had committed suicide, and so we buried that skull. However, we never got full closure,” said Sango, adding it was after the burial of the skull that a series of unexplained events began to plague the family.
He told the court that financial constraints had slowed efforts to pursue further traditional consultations.
“We are still trying to raise the money, and before we could make meaningful progress, I was surprised to be summoned to this court. We are having trouble raising such an amount, yet they think that it is me who is delaying the process,” he said.
However, younger members of the family challenged his claims, accusing him of failing to act with urgency.
One of his nephews, Paul Sango, said the family had taken steps to resolve the matter.
“The challenge is that our uncle keeps shifting goalposts. We want to move forward and consult traditional healers so that we can understand what is happening in our family, but he is not taking action,” said Paul.
He said the continued delays had left the family vulnerable to ongoing hardships. “We are facing many problems. Some of our married sisters are being sent back home by their husbands, and there are constant challenges that we do not understand. We are not accusing him of causing these problems, but as the head of the family, he has a responsibility to lead the process,” he said.
Paul added that attempts to engage their uncle often ended in frustration. “Whenever we ask him about progress, he gives excuses or tells us to wait. The situation is getting worse with each passing day,” he said.
Other family members echoed similar concerns, urging the court to intervene and bring a resolution to the matter.
Chief Mutasa directed the family to join hands in seeking solutions rather than placing the burden on one individual.
“You must consult the healers as a family so that there is transparency and understanding among all of you. No one should be left out of the process,” said Chief Mutasa.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to allow the family time to consult traditional healers collectively and return to the court with feedback.
