Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza recently in Nkayi
IN the quiet and serene Dabe Village in Nkayi District, Matabeleland North Province, under a shade of indigenous trees, lie three graves of a father and his two young sons whose lives were snuffed out in the most unimaginable circumstances that left a community reeling in pain and torn apart by grief.
A fortnight ago, Zenzo Ncube, a 47-year-old man, did the unthinkable when he allegedly struck his two sons to death with an axe before setting one of his huts on fire.
After committing the heinous crime that shook the Dabe community to its core, he committed suicide by hanging himself on the roof trusses of a house at his late brother’s homestead, less than a kilometre from the scene of the crime, where the lifeless bodies of two boys Mandlenkosi (8) and Zimisele (4) were discovered by family members.
The chilling incident occurred on the night of December 14, 2025.
According to police in Matabeleland North Province, Ncube, who was reportedly a mental patient on psychiatric medication, had been living with his children since the death of his wife, who committed suicide by hanging in 2023.
Earlier on that fateful day at around 6pm, Ncube visited his brother’s homestead, where he requested match sticks and relish from his sister-in-law before returning home.
During the night, tragedy unfolded. Police say the accused set fire to his grass-thatched hut, then armed himself with an axe and struck both children once on the head, killing them inside their bedroom hut.
He then dragged their bodies approximately seven metres outside the yard, covering them with fence droppers, clothing, dry grass and green hedges before attempting to burn them.
The fire, however, extinguished before consuming the bodies. After the attack, Ncube reportedly left the homestead and walked to his late brother’s abandoned homestead, about 500 metres away, where he hanged himself using a wire tied to a roof truss.
The grim discovery was made the following morning when a cousin, Mr Mthulisi Ncube, who had gone out to look for donkeys, noticed an open hut door at the abandoned homestead. Upon investigating, he found Zenzo Ncube’s body hanging. The discovery prompted villagers to check Ncube’s homestead, where they found the burnt hut and the bodies of the two children.
Police attended the scene and made disturbing observations. The children’s bodies were found lying on the ground, partially covered with wooden droppers, grass and clothing.
Both had deep axe wounds to the head, and their clothes were soaked in blood. Investigators also noted blood stains inside the bedroom hut, drag marks leading outside the yard, and recovered a blood-stained axe from the accused’s bedroom.
The bodies of the two children and their father were ferried to Nkayi District Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations.
“We confirm a case of murder in Nkayi District in which a father allegedly killed his two minor sons before taking his own life. The bodies of the three were taken to Nkayi District Hospital for post-mortem examinations, and investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are still underway,” said Inspector Glory Banda, Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson.
Mrs Sibonginkosi Tshabalala, the deceased’s sister-in-law, said her children are still traumatised that their cousins were hacked to death by their own father.
“The kids played together, shared meals and it’s unimaginable that Mandlenkosi and Zimisele were killed by their own father,” she said.
“My children are very traumatised,” said Mrs Tshabalala.
On the fateful day that the bodies of the little boys were discovered, Mrs Tshabalala said she quickly took her children to a neighbour’s home to prevent them from seeing their cousins lying on the ground dead.
“Seeing the bodies of Mandlenkosi and Zimisele lying on the ground motionless was hard for adults like myself and my husband. I couldn’t handle the idea of my children seeing the bodies of their cousins lying dead,” said Mrs Tshabalala.
On Tuesday, when a Chronicle news crew visited the Dabe Village, Mrs Tshabalala’s husband, together with another male relative, had travelled to another village with three cattle as compensation.
“The family of Mandlenkosi and Zimisele’s mother demanded three cattle as compensation for the death of their grandchildren. My husband left this morning to deliver the cattle to the family,” she said.
The lingering question in other villagers’ minds who spoke to Chronicle is why an allegedly mental health patient was allowed to live with minor children.
“When his wife committed suicide in 2023, her family took the kids but my brother-in-law demanded them back. He stayed with them for the last two years and we never saw signs of danger.
“I know it might sound strange after what has happened, but my brother-in-law loved his children. We are still in shock that he killed his boys that he loved so much,” said Mrs Tshabalala.
The three graves will always be a reminder to the family of how a father did the unthinkable and wiped out his young kids.
“We will never recover from this incident. The graves will also remind us who we lost two little boys and their father,” she said.
Chief Tshugulu of Nkayi said the community is still reeling under the heinous crime.
“A father taking the lives of his kids that he is meant to protect by all means is the most cruel crime that a parent can commit.
“The community will take a long time to recover from this incident,” said Chief Tshugulu.
