adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A 90-YEAR-OLD Bulilima man collapsed because of fear and has been hospitalised for the past three weeks after his abusive son returned home from jail unexpectedly. Gerald Ndlovu, 63, was in March sentenced to three months imprisonment for assaulting his father, Bernard Mqegula Ndlovu.
Upon his release, Gerald returned home and threatened his father again, leading to his hospitalisation.
Ndlovu has been detained at Plumtree Hospital for the past three weeks following the incident.
His son had been jailed for attempting to hang Ndlovu on Christmas Day last year after tying a rope around his neck in the latter’s bedroom.
He only released him, leaving the old man unconscious, after discovering that there was nowhere to tie the rope on the ceiling.
In an interview with Chronicle, Ndlovu said he was shocked when his son appeared at his homestead from prison and warned that he had come to kill him.
“I was coming out of my bedroom hut and I came across Gerald standing outside my door. He was standing there looking at me with eyes full of hate. I was not aware that his jail sentence was over.
“He told me that he had been released from prison and had returned to kill me. Gerald told me that it was time for him to inherit my wealth and the only thing stopping him was that I was still alive. I was really terrified and all I remember is that I fell to the ground and later woke up in hospital,” he said.
Ndlovu, who is bedridden after sustaining back injuries after collapsing, runs a popular shopping centre in Mangwe District known as Mqegula Shopping Centre.
He narrated the abuse meted to him and anxieties about returning home now that his son is out of prison.
“I was starting to have a little peace of mind since my son went to prison. Now that he is out I am afraid because he has been threatening to kill me in a bid to gain access to my wealth.
“I have been severely assaulted by him in the past. As old as I am, Gerald does not respect or care about me. He has been harassing me just because he wants to run my businesses and my farms,” Ndlovu said.
Gerald’s elder brother, Mandlenkosi Maphosa said after threatening his father recently, the abusive man left the old man lying on the ground, tied a red cloth at the gate and fled.
On December 25 last year, he added, Gerald tied a rope around his father’s neck and dragged him around the house accusing him of giving him a small portion of food.
The two live together and Gerald is single. It was not clear if he was previously married.
Online Reporter