admin
B-Metro Reporter
A PLUMTREE man who claims to have witness a gruesome murder that took place in Empandeni, Mangwe District in Matabeleland South Province is living in fear after the suspected perpetrator burnt down his homestead in a bid to also murder him.
An 83-year-old Mr Nicholas Nleya, who had partially lost his sight, and his wife Margaret (78), who after developing back problems was now walking with the aid of a stick, begged their assailants to take the money in a safe and spare their lives, but the suspected robbers went on to kill them before setting their bedroom alight with a suspected petrol bomb in a callous murder that has terrified Emzaza Village.
Two herdboys, aged 19 and 15, that lived with the couple, a maid and her boyfriend fled the homestead when they heard the suspected robbers assaulting their employers with what seemed to be a metal object while demanding cash.
The couple, both retired teachers at nearby Catholic-run Empandeni Primary School, were staunch members of the Roman Catholic Church and were widely known in the community as farmers, with Mr Nleya having a passion for livestock and his wife, crop production.
However, the maid, Ethel Dube’s boyfriend Mr Zamani Mpofu has revealed that life has not been easy for him ever since witnessing the callous murder, revealing that his homestead was recently burnt down in an arson attack, as the alleged perpetrator attempted to also get rid of him.
Mr Mpofu, from Makumbi village, is married and has children but was engaged in an extra-marital affair with Dube when the murders occurred.
“I will be the first to admit that as a man I made a mistake in being involved in the affair with Ethel but it seems I am now paying for that mistake as this is now affecting me and my family. On the fateful day I had gone to visit Ethel when we heard screams from the Nleya’s bedroom, we tried to hide but then had to escape when the perpetrator then set the household on fire.
“We ran different directions but I suspect the perpetrator clear saw us. I went to my homestead in Makumbi village where I had to admit to my wife on what I saw and told her that I had to go into hiding because I could also be targeted. I feared going to the police because maybe these people could then target my family or even use their proxies to target me,” said Mr Mpofu.
He revealed that he went for two months moving from one point to another but at a time when he thought the dust had died down, his family homestead was burnt down in an arson attack.
“It is really scary that these people have now burnt down my homestead. My parents, wife and children escaped narrowly but I believe that was a message that I should not talk to the police, I do not event know what I have to do, which is why I have approached the media so that whatever happens to me there is a record of what is happening to me,” said a visibly shaken Mr Mpofu.
Online Reporter