House turned into donkey stable

Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A BITTER family feud within a Johane Marange Apostolic Church household spilled into Chief Mutasa’s community court after a woman was accused of locking donkeys inside her brother-in-law’s house in retaliation for alleged witchcraft attacks.
Isaiah Matasva hauled his sister-in-law, Tapiwa Zharati, before the traditional court, claiming she deliberately let the animals sleep in his home while he was away at work.
He said the act was, not only humiliating, but also meant to punish him for accusations she had long levelled against him and his mother.

According to Matasva, Zharati repeatedly branded him a wizard and his mother a witch, alleging they orchestrated mysterious spiritual attacks to end her life. He argued that her decision to use his house as a donkey stable was an act of vengeance that had destabilised the family and caused unrest.
The court heard how tensions between the two had escalated over time, with accusations of witchcraft deepening divisions in the household.
Matasva insisted that Zharati’s actions were calculated to shame him publicly and undermine his standing within the family and church community.
“The donkeys urinate in my house, and when I come home for the holidays it smells of donkeys and urine. I have confronted her several times, but she does not listen.
“She uses my house as her stable, and it is quite disrespectful,” he said, adding that Zharati also dries her maize on his rooftop, an act he described as taboo for a woman, and particularly for an apostolic wife, saying it was done “to intimidate us at our own homestead”.
He said the conflict had simmered for more than a year and relations in the once close-knit family had broken down.
Despite belonging to an apostolic church, Zharati had allegedly abandoned church guidance, and consulted traditional healers, bringing them to the homestead without permission, describing such actions as disrespectful and taboo.
“My sister-in-law has repeatedly accused me and our mother of being wizard and witch. She believes we are responsible for every problem in her life. She has brought traditional healers to our homestead, and publicly accused us of using evil powers against her,” said Matasva, further claiming that Zharati verbally abused their mother, challenged the family’s religious beliefs, and refused family mediation.
“We tried to engage her through family discussions and even involved her parents, but nothing has changed,” he told the court.

Zharati, however, maintained her claims, divulging a string of unexplained incidents that convinced her that dark spiritual forces were at work in her husband’s family.
She recounted being seriously injured after a cow destined for slaughter attacked her, leaving her unconscious for hours. The incident prompted her to consult a spiritual healer.
“I was attacked by a cow under circumstances I still cannot understand. The healer informed me that there were evil spirits operating within my husband’s family and that these spirits were draining my life.
“Since then, I have lived in fear because I believe there are people who want to harm or even kill me,” she said, adding that tensions worsened after the death of Matasva’s child, when she was blamed for the tragedy.
“They accused me of causing the child’s death, and said I had redirected a spirit that was meant to kill me. Those accusations only deepened the divisions within the family,” said Zharati.
She denied deliberately housing donkeys in her brother-in-law’s home, telling the court that a single animal wandered into the unused structure during a storm.

“The donkey opened the door because the lock was old, and it urinated in the house. When I was informed, I immediately sent my children to clean the place. It was never my intention to disrespect anyone,” she said.
Her husband, Abraham Matasva, said the conflict began years ago when Zharati started experiencing spiritual manifestations during church services, often accusing his relatives of witchcraft afterwards.
“Over the years, she developed a belief that my relatives were responsible for the problems she was facing. Whenever these incidents occurred, she would point fingers at my brothers and other family members,” he told the court.
Family matriarch, Mbuya Matasva broke down as she denied practising witchcraft or using one of her sons to carry out evil deeds.
“I love all my children and grandchildren equally. Instead of enjoying peace in my old age, I now live under constant accusations. I have never wished harm upon my daughter-in-law, but she believes I am responsible for every difficulty she encounters. Instead, she has caused a rift between my sons who used to be best friends,” she said.
After hearing both sides, Chief Mutasa encouraged the family to consult trusted spiritual leaders together and work towards restoring peace, rather than continuing to trade accusations.
He urged the family torn apart by witchcraft allegations to seek spiritual counselling and reconciliation.