Magwegwe murder: Hubby was abusive

Temba Dube Senior Reporter
THE Bulawayo inyanga who allegedly beat his wife to death on Monday was an abusive husband who had deserted his home for two “small houses”, his in-laws said yesterday. The inyanga, Mnxwanelwa Hadebe (41) allegedly killed his wife, Simenyiwe Sibanda (30) on Monday accusing her of having an affair with her cousin brother.

The couple’s two children, girls aged nine and three, reportedly witnessed the fatal beating.
Relatives yesterday said the youngest child had been so traumatised by the incident that she was having nightmares.

Speaking from their home in Old Lobengula suburb yesterday, Sibanda’s uncle Mr George Nyathi said the family had received information that their daughter was regularly subjected to severe beatings.

“We heard that he had two ‘small houses’ and one of them lived in Entumbane. We heard that he had stopped eating meals prepared by his wife and preferred to cook his own food. He often slept out and was in the habit of beating Simenyiwe. We were told that on the fateful day when she passed out while he was beating her, he kept pouring buckets of water on her, thinking she would wake up as usual,” said Mr Nyathi.

He said the family was appalled at the brutality their daughter was subjected to.
Sibanda’s grandfather, Mr Amos Vundla (72) said the couple’s youngest daughter was having nightmares.

“She often screams at night. We think the incident affected her deeply,” he said.
“We met with our in-laws today and we have expressed our displeasure at the disrespectful manner in which they conducted this whole affair.”

Mr Vundla said Mr Hadebe’s relatives had failed to pay $650 that they had asked for as a contribution towards funeral expenses.
“Simenyiwe will be laid to rest in Tsholotsho at Vukani Village under Chief Tategulu on Sunday. We are leaving tomorrow, with the body.
“We are very unhappy with our in-laws’ lack of respect. To begin with, they never paid lobola for our daughter, our child was abused by their son and he stayed with her body for about five hours before notifying anyone. Instead of informing us soon after the tragedy, they only phoned us more than 12 hours later,” said Mr Vundla.

He said the family was also angry because Mr Hadebe’s relatives did not show remorse for what their son did.
“They first said they did not know our daughter. When we came here on Tuesday to talk to them, they avoided us and preferred to meet us at a police station. They have also not been attending the funeral wake and they have not been honest with us from the beginning,” said Mr Vundla.

He said his family had resolved to bury their daughter first and then take up the issue later.
Hadebe allegedly killed his wife on Monday at about 5pm at the couple’s rented house in Magwegwe North suburb.

He allegedly used an electric cord to beat his wife, then broke a kitchen unit door and used it to hit her all over the body.
Hadebe reportedly smashed Sibanda’s head against the wall, killing her while their children watched.

It is suspected that Hadebe stayed with the body for at least four hours before making a false report to the police, claiming his wife had collapsed after fits attack.