Online Reporter
Mthokozisi Ncube
A NKULUMANE family says it is living in fear, trapped in a nightmare of violence, threats and unanswered pleas for help as their mentally unstable brother spirals deeper into drug abuse and aggression.
“I am afraid,” said Mercy Ndlovu (52). “In my father’s home, he threatens to kill us if we try to help him. He even bathes with the door open, which makes me uncomfortable.”
Mercy is the sister of Nkosilathi Ndlovu (46), who was diagnosed as mentally unstable in 2000 at Ingutsheni Central Hospital. The family says his problems started early after he began abusing drugs at a young age. Since then, he has been in and out of mental health institutions, prisons and back into the community, each time returning with more dangerous behaviour.
Speaking to B-Metro, Mercy said the violence reached a terrifying peak when her brother allegedly stabbed their father. Ndlovu later claimed it was a nail cutter and said he was defending himself. Their father later suffered a stroke. Following the incident, Ndlovu was sent to Chikurubi Psychiatric Unit but received a short sentence after the court ruled that he was mentally disturbed.
For a brief moment after his release, the family hoped things would change. “He looked normal for a short time, but he continued abusing drugs,” Mercy said. When their father grew old, Mercy moved in to care for him. That decision, she says, only made her brother angrier.
“During a family gathering in December a few years ago, he tried to stab his brother after a misunderstanding,” she said. From then on, fear became part of daily life. Doors were kicked and broken. Neighbours grew wary. Because of his criminal record, Ndlovu was later sent to Khami Prison. “Every time he is discharged, he comes back worse.
Sometimes he is returned on the same day he is discharged,” Mercy said.
The family has repeatedly sought help from health institutions, only to hit a wall. “We ask the nurses why he behaves like this, but they say he is drunk and cannot be assessed,” she said.
This is not just a family drama. Zimbabwe has seen deadly violence linked to untreated mental illness. In August, a man with known mental health issues allegedly killed three people in Tengwe, including a four-year-old child, with an axe handle. Days earlier in Madlambuzi, a man described as a mental patient went on a violent rampage, killing five villagers and injuring others before his arrest. Police warned these tragedies underline a crisis of untreated mental illness leading to lethal violence.
Mental health and substance abuse experts say families in such situations are not powerless. Zimbabwe has structures meant to assist those battling addiction and mental health crises. Families can report violent behaviour to the police to trigger a mental health assessment through the courts. They can also seek referrals to Ingutsheni
Hospital and district hospitals for psychiatric evaluation, especially when there is a history of violence.
Crucially, families and individuals affected by drug and substance abuse can call the Zimbabwe National Drug and Substance Abuse Toll-Free Number 08014424 for guidance, counselling and referrals to treatment services.
For Mercy and her family, the plea is simple. “We just want to be safe,” she said. “And we want him to get real help before someone gets seriously hurt.”
