adminIt is understood that trouble started when Buhe Madzikatire, the now deceased, was drinking beer with his nephew Mthulisi Nkomo.
The two who were aged 20 were reportedly arguing over who was going to prepare the Thursday supper.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed the incidents that occurred between Thursday night and Friday morning.
“We are handling a case whereby a 20-year-old man is alleged to have fatally stabbed his uncle, before fleeing the scene. He was later found hanging from a tree at a nearby house,” said Insp Moyo.
When a Chronicle news crew visited the scene of the stabbing in Nkulumane 11, it was met with bloodstains while clothes including a white cap and a T- Shirt that were in the yard were soaked in blood.
Damaged property had also been removed from the house. The property included a broken table and glasses.
The atmosphere in the house was tense, as the family was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy that had befallen it.
“We are still struggling to put the puzzle pieces together. this incident occurred when they were alone so at the moment we don’t have a full account of what really transpired.
“We are still in a state of shock and we are confused,” said a family spokesperson who only identified himself as Mr Nkomo.
Neighbours told Chronicle that the fight between the two ensued at about 8pm, when the uncle delegated his nephew to prepare supper.
“It seems Mthulisi refused to cook for his uncle, which resulted in the fight. In the feat of being drunk he picked up a knife and stabbed his uncle five times, on the neck, chest and in the stomach and he died on the spot,” said a neighbour, Mr Thulani Moyo.
He said at first the two were restrained by a tenant in the house.
“Upon noticing that he had killed his uncle, Mthulisi fled from the scene. We were shocked to hear that he was found hanging from a house about a kilometre away from his home,” said Mr Moyo.
He said the entire length of the blade of the knife, about 10 centimetres, used in the stabbing was covered in blood, suggesting that the cuts were deep.
On the scene of the suicide, a gloomy atmosphere prevailed, as more than 100 residents looked at the body of the man who allegedly killed his uncle in utter disbelief.
His hands and arms were also covered in blood while his clothes had bloodstains.
He used his belt to hang himself from a lemon tree, which is about 2.5 metres tall. Under the tree there was a table, which he used to reach the top branch. A few metres away, his mother was shedding tears incessantly, watching her son hanging from a tree, with four women trying to comfort her. The owner of the house where the suicide took place, Mr Glenn Sibanda, was equally in a state of shock.
“I cannot understand why this boy chose to take his life in my yard out of all the places he could think of, there are so many trees between here and where he was staying,” said Mr Sibanda.
He said according to his culture the incident was a sign of a bad omen.
“Abadala bathi ngumnyama, but anyway we can explain it in our own way and say it was just an accident for him to end up here,” said Mr Sibanda.
He said he had no problem with coming to grips with what had happened, as the motive of the suicide was clear.
“My son was shocked to discover the body hanging at about 5am when he was preparing to go to work, he immediately raised alarm, I then notified the police,” said Mr Sibanda.
Insp Moyo urged members of the public to desist from resorting to violence in solving their difference, especially when are under the influence of alcohol.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter