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Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
IN a tragic incident, a woman and her three young children were forced to sleep in the open for several days after their home was burnt down by a furious neighbour who was accusing the woman’s sister of having an affair with her husband.
Ivy Chidzungu accused Shamiso Maziti of turning her hut into a love nest for the two lovebirds and allegedly set the hut on fire as revenge.
The matter appeared before Headman Chigodora’s court last week.
However, Chidzungu and her husband, only identified as Saaranje, denied any knowledge of the alleged affair.
But Maziti produced a petticoat that she claimed was bought for her sister, Ellen Maziti, by Saranje, as an exhibit of the two’s affair.
“She torched my hut while I was sleeping inside. We survived death by a whisker. When I woke up, the roof was already on fire and I struggled to escape as the door was locked from outside. We only recovered a pocket of potatoes, a phone and US$50. Since my husband works in Headlands, we had to spend some days in the open. The hut was the only building at our homestead.
“I do not understand why she did this to me because I never blessed my sister’s affair with her husband. There is bad blood between my sister and I over this issue. However, I was punished for my sister’s sins,” said Maziti.
Ellen, however, denied ever being romantically involved with Saranje and labelled her sister a liar.
“My sister is a liar of repute. I do not know where she got this petticoat from. I was never with Saranje. I only know him as a fellow community member. I was never in love with him. His wife would call me and harass me over the alleged affair,” she said.
Chidzungu also vehemently denied torching the hut. She said she has no issues with Maziti.
“I was furious with her sister and not her, so why would I torch her hut when they do not stay together? I was even surprised when she came with a policeman, accusing me of arson.
“I was not feeling well on the day that she says I woke up at 2am and burnt her hut. With the condition that I was in, it was even difficult for me to get up. I was bed-ridden.
“Had I known, I would have brought my medical record before this court so that you would check for yourself,” she said.
Saranje insisted that he was only friends with Ellen.
He said they would communicate over the phone, but they were not romantically connected.
He also denied ever buying her a petticoat.
“I was never in love with her sister. Her sister asked for my phone number and I gave it to her, but only as friends. From then on, we would communicate as friends, not as lovers.
“However, rumours had it that I was having an affair with her sister. They were just rumours and nothing more,” he defended himself.
Headman Chigodora referred the matter to the police.
He further chastised Saranje and Ellen for having an affair.
“It is very clear that you people were involved in an affair, no matter how much you may deny it. On the issue of the burnt hut, the matter should be dealt with by the police and not by this court,” he concluded.
Online Reporter