Spirit of vengeance cited in Lupane double murder

SPIRITUAL leaders have said Clever Ngwenya of Gwalubha village in Lupane District who callously killed his elderly parents could have been driven by a spirit of vengeance that is haunting him.

Clever cold-bloodedly killed his mother Mildress Ngwenya (71) and father Simon Ngwenya (73) at their homestead last Thursday.

He chased after his siblings Mr Khululani Ngwenya and Ms Fidelis Ngwenya leading to the family seeking refuge at Lupane Police Station.

The suspect is on the run and is believed to have skipped the border.

He is said to have told his siblings that he killed his parents when they tried quizzing him.

Clever’s actions have left his family and community shocked.

Traditional healer Mr David Mhambinyana said such occurrences can be connected to the suspect’s history.

“What could have happened is that the perpetrator might have killed someone and those people performed revenge rituals which led him to kill his parents. He might continue killing his relatives until the spirits of those that he wronged are appeased,” he said.

Mr Mhambinyana said traditional leaders should intervene and promote harmonious co-existence in communities to prevent members of the public from turning against each other.

Another traditional leader Mr David Nduna Mlilo said while this case could have happened at the Ngwenya family, it is reflective of what is obtaining in the community.

“We see a lot of these cases where people are just killing each other senselessly. I think this is spiritual and there is a need for national cleansing. We need to visit Njelele to cleanse the country from the bad omen,” he said.

“A lot of things happened during the war, and that is why the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo went to Njelele at the beginning of the armed struggle but after that, we didn’t return there. So there are things that still need to be addressed spiritually.”

Mr Mlilo said there is also the issue of drug and substance abuse which is turning young people into monsters.

From a Christian perspective, Bishop Rocky Moyo said Clever might have consulted prophets or inyangas who then told him that his misfortunes were caused by his parents.

“So these people who consult prophets or inyangas are sometimes told that they are failing in life because of their parents. They are sometimes told that the parents are the ones bewitching them,” he said.

Bishop Moyo said some of the boys turn against their mothers, especially upon learning at an older age that they were not using their fathers’ surnames.

He called on spiritual leaders to try and unite communities instead of causing divisions.

Meanwhile, the Lupane business community has expressed shock at the callous murder of the elderly couple by their son.

Lupane businessman, Mr Permanent Sibanda said the late Mr Ngwenya owned a shop before he retired to his homestead due to old age.

“We are devastated as a community following the cold-blooded murder of the elderly couple by their son.

We are also concerned by the general level of crime in the community as cases of murder are on the increase,” he said.

Mr Sibanda said the deceased couple’s bodies were brought to Bulawayo for post-mortem. — @nqotshili