adminWalter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
THE family of a Masvingo vendor who died while fleeing police for operating without a licence is demanding 10 beasts from their son-in-law before burying her.
Fungai Rutsava, 23, of Kupfuura Street, Target Kopje in Masvingo, broke her leg and later died in hospital following last Thursday’s incident.
Fungai’s uncle, Munashe Rutsava, yesterday said their son-in-law, Earnest Matiza, had not paid lobola for their daughter and needed to be sanctioned.
He said Matiza disrespected their family by cohabitating with their daughter for seven years without officially marrying her.
“We have accepted our daughter’s fate because it is not her husband’s making that she died. We have been apprised of what transpired and we now appreciate the tragedy but the fact remains that they disrespected us,” said Rutsava.
“We readily accepted them as our in-laws and we are treating them as such even if they paid us a small amount of money.
“If our daughter had not died it is clear that they were not going to come to us.
“It is now seven years since they cohabitated with her only to come on Thursday last week when she died.”
Rutsava said unless their in-laws met their demands the burial would not proceed.
He said in the meantime they would accept five beasts before burial and then the other five in September.
“We have agreed that they bury her at their rural home in Chivhu. However, we are not budging as far as our demands are concerned. They have to pay us five beasts failure to which the burial will not take place. Unless they pay us, we will not allow the burial to go ahead,” said Rutsava.
Earnest’s father, John, downplayed his in-laws’ demands saying the families agreed that all outstanding lobola money would be paid by September.
“I think they are only being emotional due to the pain of losing their daughter, which is normal. If I was the father I was going to react the same way,” said Matiza.
“It is painful to lose your child in the way it happened and due to pain one is expected to say anything. I am also bereaved because my son’s wife is also my daughter.
“As far as I am concerned we have offered to pay all outstanding lobola. We pleaded with our in-laws and they understood that the burial has to go ahead unhindered.”
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