Dead man demands to be reburied

The man, identified as Steven Nyakunhuwa, reportedly speaks through one of his sons, demanding to know why his second wife killed him and why he was buried at Hyde Park Cemetery instead of his rural home.
His body is set to be exhumed on Friday and re-buried following “his” instructions.
Relatives yesterday said there has been no peace at the house since Nyakunhuwa started “visiting” about six months ago. Nyakunhuwa’s story is the topic on everyone’s lips in the suburb and everyone who met the newscrew knew about it.
His second wife, Mrs Fadzai Nyakunhuwa, has since fled from the matrimonial home at 10948 Nkulumane 10, after repeated “persecution” by the spirit of the dead man.
“When the son, Kudzanayi (26), from the first marriage, gets possessed by his father’s spirit, he speaks and acts exactly like his father. The spirit demands to know why the second wife fed a love potion to Nyakunhuwa, which killed him. At times, it tries to strangle the woman,” said a relative who declined to be named.
The relative said things came to a head in November when the spirit got very angry and said it was not being given due respect and recognition.
“It said, through Kudzanayi, that there would be no peace for everyone if Nyakunhuwa’s body was not exhumed and reburied in Manicaland. Kudzanayi, who was seized by the spirit, broke about 16 window panes at the house and tried to assault Mrs Nyakunhuwa,” said the relative.
The relative said Mrs Nyakunhuwa reported the matter at Nkulumane Police Station, but she told the police that Kudzanayi was drunk and tried to forcibly evict her from “her house”.
“When Kudzanayi was arrested, the spirit manifested itself at the station and said all the things that it had been saying at home. The police had to release the boy because what they were seeing was beyond their understanding,” the relative said.
“Fadzai has fled from the home and is now living at a house that she inherited after her first husband died, at Glenkara Homes. The spirit has continued tormenting those who remained behind, demanding the reburial of Nyakunhuwa’s body.”
Although Kudzanayi was not at home, in an interview yesterday, Nyakunhuwa’s brother, Ben Nyakunhuwa (41), confirmed the bizarre story.
“The story is true. My brother chased away his customary wife in 1992 to live with the new wife. They quickly got married under Chapter 5:11, thereby excluding the first wife from claims on his estate,” said the brother.
Ben said Nyakunhuwa was ill for a long time before eventually dying in February 2009.
“His wife did not notify us about his illness, we did not even attend the funeral. We do not even know what happened to his terminal benefits and the Peugeot 504 station wagon he used to own,” said the younger Mr Nyakunhuwa.
He said the family was only brought back into the picture when the spirit of his brother started terrorising his wife.
“My late brother’s son, Kudzanayi (26), gets possessed by his father’s spirit and starts speaking against his wife and asking her why she refused to let him be buried where he said he wanted to be laid to rest. Kudzanayi sometimes gets violent and tries to strangle her. At one time he broke window panes at the house,” he said.
Nyakunhuwa’s uncle, Mr Nobbie Kwadi (61), said the family did not want to go into details about the story because it might disturb traditional rites that were supposed to be carried out at the Nkulumane house.
“We are not fighting with anyone and we do not want to say things that will later cause quarrels among relatives. We can only tell you that the body will be exhumed on Friday. It was supposed to be done last week but there was a missing document in our application to the Bulawayo City Council, for permission to dig up the grave at Hyde Park Cemetery,” said Mr Kwadi.
Nyakunhuwa reportedly demanded that his first wife should be included in the customary rites that should be carried out.
Mrs Nyakunhuwa could not be reached for comment as she was said to be out of town.
Contacted for comment, Bulawayo’s police spokesperson, Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo, said he needed to verify facts about the story.