Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku
A FORT Rixon man shocked the country and tore through the hearts of many after he allegedly slaughtered his own two-week-old daughter, chopping her into four pieces with a kitchen knife — all because his wife served him isitshwala with okra instead of meat.
Israel Chisago appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Evia Matura facing murder charges. He was not asked to plead and only confirmed his name and the charge. He was remanded in custody to 7 July for routine remand.
The gory incident occurred after Chisago and his wife, Ellinah Mathobela, got into a heated argument at their home.
The source of the fight was a plate of the slippery delicacy. After his wife fled, Chisago appeared to try to cook the baby instead.
“He was angry that I gave him isitshwala with idelele (okra). He shouted that I was disrespecting him. I tried to explain there was no meat in the house since he had not bought it but he couldn’t hear it,” said Mathobela in a trembling voice.
As tempers flared, Chisago allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and charged at his wife. Fearing for her life, Mathobela bolted from the room, sprinting to a neighbour’s house for refuge. But in her rush to escape, she left behind their new-born baby lying on the bed.
“He chased me all the way, but I managed to get to a neighbour’s house and hid there,” she said.
Consumed with rage, Chisago returned to their home. What he did next defies belief.
The court heard how Chisago grabbed the sleeping baby, took her to the kitchen, and used the same knife to slit her throat, before cutting her body into four pieces and leaving the remains strewn across the floor.
“When I came back with two male neighbours to check on the child, what we saw is something I will never forget. My baby was in four pieces. It was like a horror movie. Blood was everywhere,” said Mathobela, sobbing.
Neighbours were left traumatised and authorities called to the gruesome scene were equally shaken.
Police confirmed the baby had been dismembered using a kitchen knife. The body parts were discovered in different corners of the kitchen floor.
Mathobela described her husband as a soft-spoken and respectful man.
“He was never violent. He loved our baby. I still don’t understand what came over him. Maybe it was the stress, maybe something snapped. But I never imagined he could do something this monstrous,” she said.
The community of Keshambe area, where the couple lived, is still in shock, struggling to comprehend how a food dispute could escalate into such a savage killing.
Mental health experts say the case raises serious questions about hidden trauma, untreated rage, and the need for better support systems in families under pressure.
Chisago remains behind bars, and as his trial looms, the nation watches in horror and disbelief.
