adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A GRANNY from Mangwe was burnt to death when a bedroom hut she was sleeping in caught fire on Monday night.
Close relatives say Esther Moyo, 72, of Nxele was alone when the raging inferno consumed her bedroom hut. It could not be established how the fire started but relatives say they tried in vain to put it down but watched helplessly as the roof of the house collapsed, trapping the old woman inside.
Moyo’s son, Rabson Ndlovu, 50, said they suspected the fire was caused by a paraffin lamp.
“I stayed with my mother and when we retired to bed on Monday evening everything was ok. We were joking and chatting as usual,” he told Chronicle.
“She left me in the kitchen and proceeded to her room carrying a paraffin lamp and a candle.”
Ndlovu said he recalled “telling her to mind the paraffin lamp” as she used to leave it on when she went to bed.
“I stayed for a while in the kitchen and when I went to bed I noticed that the light was still on in her room,” he said.
Ndlovu said he was alerted by his nephew at midnight that his mother’s hut was on fire.
“I quickly ran out and in vain we tried to put down the fire. I tried calling my mother to come out but there was no response,” he said adding, “The fire was so intense that I even failed to get close to the door. Within a few minutes the roof collapsed and that was when I knew that my mother was gone.”
Moyo’s niece, Virginia Dube said they found the old woman’s charred remains trapped in the debris in the hut.
“I saw the flames from afar and assumed that there was probably an accident little did I know that they were the flames that consumed my aunt,” she said sorrowfully.
“I was later notified that the fire was coming from her homestead and I quickly rushed there.”
Dube said Moyo’s body was burned beyond recognition and all property in the hut was reduced to ashes.
“My aunt had some paraffin stored in her bedroom hut and I think this fuelled the fire. Neighbours tried to put out the fire but failed,” Dube said.
She added that her aunt was epileptic and family members assumed that she suffered an attack which might explain why she failed to make it out of the hut on time.
“She was epileptic and had frequent attacks that often left her somewhat paralysed and unable to move. I think she had one of those attacks when the fire started.
“It’s just painful that we will only satisfy ourselves with assumptions and we will never really know what really transpired on that night,” said Dube.
Moyo’s sister, Margaret Dube, 80, also expressed shock over the incident.
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