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Blessing Ticha Karubwa
A DESPERATE Zimbabwean mother living in South Africa is begging for help to return home after her 12-year-old twin daughters allegedly turned her life into a nightmare of theft, bar dancing and angry mobs.
The 34-year-old woman from Hlatshwayo Village in Filabusi, Insiza South, cannot be named for ethical reasons. She lives in Yeoville in Gauteng.
She says she now needs R5 000 to travel back to Zimbabwe with her four children after failing to control the troubled twins.
“My two children, who are 12 years old, are giving me serious trouble. What I want now is just to take them home to Zimbabwe and stay with them there,” she said.
The struggling single mother separated from the twins’ father in 2016 when the girls were just two years old.
Since the, she has battled unemployment and poverty while raising the children alone.
She believes the harsh life in South Africa pushed the twins into crime.
“I could not afford them a better life. Things were really hard and the kids started stealing phones and other property from people,” she said.
According to the distressed mother, victims often storm her home demanding compensation.
“People whose property was stolen by the kids would come and beat me. Sengihlala ngitshaywa ngabantu,” she said.
Matters worsened last November when angry residents allegedly burnt down her rented house after accusing the girls of theft.
Sympathetic neighbours later offered temporary shelter.
The mother claims the twins frequently run away from home to bars where they dance before stealing from patrons.
“These twins run away and go to bars where they dance and later steal from people. They only come home when we look for them,” she said.
The situation has even drawn the attention of the South African Police Service.
One of the twins was briefly taken to the Walter Sisulu Remand Centre but released because she is too young for detention.
She later escaped from another facility.
A relative who travelled to South Africa to investigate the situation confirmed the chaos.
The family is now trying to raise money for the mother and children to return to Zimbabwe where relatives believe they can help discipline the twins.
Those willing to assist can contact the family on +27785956037
Online Reporter