Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
MS Sanele Sibanda, the Kezi woman who was brutally attacked and left for dead in a maize field, was allegedly threatened by her husband not to report any cases of abuse or misunderstanding between her and her husband as he said he would kill her.
Ms Sibanda (29), was physically attacked by her husband, Mbukisi Moyo, an elder with the Seventh Day Adventist Church in their area following a misunderstanding over alleged infidelity.
He then made a fake police report to the effect that she was missing while he was holding her captive in their home.
Moyo then allegedly burnt her with acid and dumped her body in a maize field when her relatives indicated that they were coming to assist in searching for her. Sunday News caught up with Mr Smart Moyo an uncle to Ms Sibanda in Ndabankulu Village, south of Maphisa Growth Point where he narrated the abuse that she suffered which they also witnessed.
“Sometime in the night in July this year she came running and crying saying she had fought with her husband after she had received a phone call from a suspected lover. We asked her if she had that male friend and she said no, she said her husband had forced her to confess that she had a lover whom she was in communication with.
“On that same day as they were asleep, he is said to have woken up and taken an axe under the bed and wanted to chop her up but she managed to flee to my home. He chased after her and she managed to find refuge here, it was a cold night and I told her to put up here and return the following day giving her husband a chance to cool down,” Mr Moyo said.
The following day, Mbukisi called for his wife and the uncle sent his own wife to go ahead and first engage him before Ms Sibanda returned home.
“I told my wife to go and speak to Mbukisi’s family first before reuniting them as I was not too sure of his intentions since he had come here chasing after her with an axe. He was called and he denied ever wanting to axe her the previous night.
Mbukisi accused his wife of infidelity leading to fights. The person who she was accused of having an affair with is a local person and Mbukisi went to fight the man and was fined five goats at the village court for that attack on a fellow villager,” said Mr Moyo.
The uncle said Mbukisi was in the habit of fighting his wife and when she sought refuge with relatives, he would come and take her without their consent or even solving the issue.
The last episode, he said, was the last straw as he was bent on killing her after convincing her to come back home after their altercation. On the day she vanished, Mbukisi informed Mr Moyo.
“He called saying he could not find his wife; he was looking for her here as she usually sought refuge with us.
“I asked him if they had any problem and he said no, she just vanished. I told him to make a police report and he lied and said he made one. He then kept her in the house for almost a week, only to dump her in a maize field because he had heard that Sanele’s relatives were coming.
Added Mr Moyo; “Mbukisi was always in the habit of beating her up and her back had turned green from the beatings, even the neighbours have witnessed many of the attacks. After this matter he has not set foot here.
The way he attacked Sanele was not right and he must be punished for that. If she had cheated on him, he should have come for resolution of the matter rather than to attempt to kill her and burn her with acid,” he said.
Ms Sifiso Sibanda, mother to Ms Sibanda told Sunday News at Maphisa District Hospital where she is attending to her that her daughter was barred from talking about the abuses.
“I was only informed when she vanished, but I was not aware of the abuse which is said to have gone on for years. She never told me; it really hurts me as she is in bad shape. She said her husband threatened to kill her if she told me of the abuse, so she kept quiet. He would take away her phone if she ever tried to contact me.
“I buy medication and drugs that are needed, I am a domestic worker in Bulawayo and I was using my salary to buy the medication but now my employer has said I must attend to my daughter until she is better then return to work. I won’t be having any money until then,” she said.
She gave advice to women who are experiencing Gender Based Violence.
“As a parent I am hurt looking at my daughter’s state and also knowing that Mbukisi is out there. I encourage women to report GBV and other forms of abuse, they must tell anyone close to them and share their problems so as to get help as soon as they can,” she said.
Ms Sibanda suffered second degree burns to her lower body after being beaten and burnt with a liquid suspected to be acid by her husband following a domestic dispute. Mbukisi appeared in court last week and was remanded out of custody for physical abuse.
@NyembeziMu
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