Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
A MVUMA man will spend the next seven years behind bars after he set fire to a hut while a woman and her four young children were trapped inside, in a twisted act of revenge over missing chickens.
The terrifying incident occurred on 17 August 2025 in Village 72, Huchu. Simbarashe Mafeta (25) stormed up to the victim’s home around 8PM, demanding she come outside.
The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), in a statement, said Mafeta accused the woman of allowing her dog to feast on his chickens. When she refused to come out, things took a sinister turn.
“The offender proceeded to set fire to the hut while the family was inside,” read the statement.
The terrified mother, aged 38, and her children — aged between five and 10 — screamed for help as flames engulfed the home. Villagers rushed to the scene and managed to pull the family to safety before they were burned alive.
The fire destroyed property worth US$2 000, leaving the family with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Mafeta was arrested shortly after and hauled before the Gweru Magistrates’ Court, where he was convicted of attempted murder and malicious damage to property. He was handed a nine-year sentence, with two years suspended on condition of good behavior.
He will serve seven effective years behind bars and was ordered to pay US$2 000 in restitution for the destroyed property.
The NPAZ condemned the attack, calling it a chilling example of how minor disputes can escalate into life-threatening violence.
“It’s a sobering fact that a significant number of murder cases originate from seemingly meaningless altercations. We urge individuals to seek third-party mediation as a constructive alternative to violence,” the statement read.
