Bongani Ndlovu
Bongani Ndlovu, [email protected]
A MAKESHIFT structure at the Emakhandeni Firewood Market has become the centre of mourning for the Sibanda family, who are preparing to bury 23-year-old Mihla Sibanda following his death by suicide in the aftermath of a devastating house fire in Bulawayo.
The young man, who had been renting a room in a house that was gutted by fire on Saturday, was later found unconscious in a bush between Emakhandeni and Entumbane. He was pronounced dead at Mpilo Central Hospital.
In line with cultural practice often observed in cases of suicide, the family has not held the funeral wake at the homestead, instead gathering at a temporary structure at the busy firewood market where relatives, neighbours and well-wishers are paying their respects.
The setting — surrounded by traders and daily market activity — has become an unlikely space of grief, where the community is rallying around the bereaved family ahead of burial arrangements.
Mihla’s death came a day after a fire tore through the rented house he had been staying in, destroying property belonging to several families and leaving survivors with nothing but clothes on their backs.
The tragedy has since drawn intervention from the Department of Civil Protection (CPU) and the Bulawayo City Council, who have provided emergency assistance to affected households.
More details in tomorrow’s edition of the Chronicle.
Online Reporter