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Tanyaradzwa Mujati
Post Reporter
A Chikanga, Mutare family is counting its losses after their 19-year-old son who is suspected to have been high on crystal meth, commonly known as guka makafela, burnt down part of their three-bedroomed house.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the inferno which destroyed everything that was in the lounge and the main bedroom. The owner of the house, Mr Isaac Sibiya, said the fire broke out while he was away at his plot in Chipinge.
His son, Tinotenda Sibiya, was home alone.
“I received a call around 3am saying my house was on fire. I had to rush back from my plot to find out what was happening. We do not know what caused the fire. It is heart-breaking because we could not salvage anything from the rooms that were affected by the fire.
“I had two sets of sofas and two of plasma TVs in the lounge. They were all reduced to ashes. The roof was also affected. I think we lost property worth US$10 000 in the inferno,” he said.
However, those who arrived at the scene first said they suspect that Tinotenda was taking drugs in the lounge. It is believed that the fire that Tinotenda was using to light up his guka lit the carpet and he failed to put it out once it spread to the other rooms.
“We found Tinotenda outside, starring on the fire. He was intoxicated. He claimed that he had other people with him, but I think he was hallucinating. He didn’t want to face the lights of the Fire Brigade vehicle which responded to the fire incident. He looked confused and tried to run away,” said a witness who requested anonymity.
A neighbour and family fried, Ms Beatrice Chikwana, said prior to the fire incident, Tinotenda was seen running around the streets of Chikanga, saying he was being chased by invisible people who wanted to kill him.
“Tinotenda came to our house last night at around 11pm. He was looking for a place to sleep, claiming that he was being chased by invisible people who wanted to kill him. I instructed him to go back home and sleep as he looked so exhausted. He had to scale over the precast wall to get into their yard. Before I retired to bed, I asked him if he was going straight to bed and he replied positively.
“To my surprise, he did not get into the house, but started going around knocking at people’s doors looking for a place to sleep. He repeated his claims of being chased around by invisible people,” said Ms Chikwana during an interview last week on Thursday.
She said she then woke up around 3am after hearing a deafening sound.
“I woke up around 3am after hearing a deafening sound. I realised that our neighbour’s house was on fire. I rushed to the scene to check if Tino was safe. We found him seated on top of the precast wall while semi-naked. He was looking heavily intoxicated.
“Tinotenda was alone in the house, so we suspect that he is the one who started the fire. He was very high when we saw him. He was shivering and making scary sounds. Whenever we tried to console him, he would jump. I think he just needs to come out clean on the cause of the fire. However, I doubt he will remember anything,” said Ms Chikwana.
In a separate interview, Tinotenda confirmed that he was under the influence of drugs during the fire incident. He, however, refuted allegations that he caused the fire.
He apportioned the blame on the invisible people who were chasing and threatening to kill him.
“I think this is sabotage. My friend, Elias, was bringing his various friends to take drugs at our house. I told him that they should stop as they would end up stealing from our house. I guess this angered him and he retaliated by burning down our house.
“The fire started from the ceiling in the sitting room. I had removed my trousers and was ready to sleep. I do not even know who took my pair of trousers when the fire broke out. When the fire started, I had to jump out through our tenant’s window since the keys were in my trousers.
“I was shivering because I was struggling to come to terms with the disaster that had befallen us. I did not burn down the house, but the people I heard talking in the ceiling are being the arson,” he said.
Police said investigations are in progress.
Online Reporter