The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu
THE house in Bulawayo’s Nketa suburb that was gutted down by a mysterious fire recently killing five family members is haunted, neighbours and the family of the deceased have said.
The fire broke out at midnight a fortnight ago and consumed the family leaving the father of the house, Musafare Chidembo severely burnt. However, according to Erasmus, a brother to Chidembo, the house has a history of problems.
“Before the fire incident Musafare had told me that the house had problems, we hear the person who once stayed at the house committed suicide by hanging himself and we do not know why,” said Erasmus.
He said Musafare further told him that neighbours had also told him that he had been one of the tenants who had stayed the longest at the house in question as many people would stay temporarily and vacate because a lot of misfortunes that befell them. The Chidembos’ had stayed at the Nketa house for over four years.
According to Erasmus his brother had trouble with the house as there were squabbles among the custodians of the house.
“The owner of the house died and when Musafare started staying at the house he always had challenges with rentals as different people would come demanding rentals. The children of the deceased would come any time from South Africa and demand rentals and also some of his local relatives would come for rentals so it was a problem,” he said.
He said the family was always having challenges about the rentals and wanted to move out. “Musafare told me that he wanted to move out of the house as he said he had too many landlords and it was giving him problems as to who to give the rentals. He was in the process of finding a comfortable home for his wife and children but unfortunately they died before he could find suitable accommodation,” he said.
Night of the fire
There have been different versions of what happened on the night of the fire. Bulawayo’s chief fire officer Richard Peterson said arson could not be ruled out. The fire might have been caused by an electric fault as Musafare said he saw flames through the ceiling before waking his family up so that they could rush to safety. Erasmus said he (Musafare) rushed outside to push a kombi away from the burning house. He said thick smoke prevented Musafare from rushing back into the house to save his family.
Happy Chirozva, the landlord, however, said he found it strange that Musafare rushed outside to save his kombi without rescuing his family first. “I hear his children who were sleeping in the dining room told him the house was on fire. Instead of ensuring that everyone was rushed to safety, he went outside to push away the kombi,” said Chirozva.
The cause of the fire was not established immediately but the fire department said they were not ruling out arson because the kombi which was parked outside seems to have caught the fire first. At the same time, the window of the house which was close to the vehicle was opened and that’s where a sofa also caught fire.
A neighbour who observed the fire said it spread quickly through the ceiling. She said residents could not save the family as the house was filled with thick smoke. The residents said when the fire fighters arrived, it was too late. A four-year-old, neighbours said, initially escaped but returned to the house for her mother and then the fire consumed her. His other children Mitchell (9) and Tafadzwa (12) escaped unhurt.
The other side
Erasmus was at pains to explain what really happened the night of the fire.
“When the fire broke out, Tafadzwa rushed to tell Musafare that the house was on fire and he woke up his wife but there was a lot of smoke in the passage and his wife did not follow him but went towards a different direction.
Musafare then went to try and open the door for the other three children to get out. One child then ran back into the house as she had started burning already as he was wrestling with the door.
“The child ran to look for the mother in the bedrooms, Musafare then tried to go and rescue them but he was prevented from proceeding as smoke had engulfed the house , that is how he had those burns all over, he was trying to save them,” said Erasmus.
He went on: “We are still mourning but there is tension among the family as this issue is just making rounds, people forget that what they say lives on. There are children that survived the inferno, how do you expect them to feel when their siblings died in the fire and there is word that their father saved the kombi rather than saving their siblings?
There is bound to be bad blood because of these false reports,” he lamented.
After failing to get back into the house Musafare then decided to push the kombi that was now catching the fire as it was about to burn the neighbours’ house.
“He pushed the kombi with the help of neighbours but he was badly burnt already and getting back in to the house was impossible but people are putting emphasis on the kombi issue suggesting that my brother saved it while the family was dying inside. No one took time to explain that the house was on fire but they are saying Musafare acted ruthlessly,” said Erasmus.
Unsettling revelations by a neighbour
Mr Mockson Moyo a neighbor to the Chidembo family had this to say in his own words. “We started building these houses back in 1986 and around 1988 they were complete and this house belonged to a couple called naRosey and saRosey. He and his wife became close to my family and they often told us that they would hear strange noises in the house at night.
He said their stove and lights would be switched on and “people” could be heard cooking and washing dishes but in the morning their house would be the way they left it the previous night with no sign that there was cooking. So all the time they ran to my house for safety when this happened. These strange happenings continued for a while until they decided to sell the house as they could not keep up with the midnight visits by unknown and unseen beings.
They moved out to Magwegwe and rented it out to a couple while they were looking for a buyer. The new tenants who came confided in me that they would see and hear things at night just like the owner of the house would. The couple was always fighting too and we never understood why. One day the wife could not stand what was happening and she left for her parents’ home. The man came back from work to find his wife having packed her belongings and that same night he hanged himself in one of the rooms. After this episode, a man called Bhebhe purchased the house, he destroyed it completely and built a new house, unfortunately he died too after facing challenges as well. Bhebhe’s relatives then leased the house to Chidembo who also like other previous people faced some problems at the houses until the tragic incident.
Donations
Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko last week visited the family and donated groceries to assist the family. The Government through Cde Nomthandazo Sandi Moyo, the Minister of State for Bulawayo donated US$1 000 to aid the family.
However, one of the children who perished in the fire Nichollette Mlilo whose funeral wake was held in Nkulumane had her relatives fuming as they claim them they never received their share of the donated groceries.
Her maternal grandmother Mrs Enita Mlilo said she was not after the food stuffs but felt the Chidembos should have given them a fair share of the donations since they were all bereaved.
“These were things donated to us by the Government and well-wishers and we feel they should have distributed them fairly since we all had mourners at our houses but they have decided to keep the donations to themselves, we will not fight for them,” said Mrs Mlilo.
Burial
The Chidembos buried their four relatives in Musami area in Murewa, Mashonalaland East. Nichollette who was sired out of wedlock by Musafare was buried at West Park Cemetery in Bulawayo by her mother’s family who raised her after a fierce debate over where she was supposed to be buried erupted.
Meanwhile, Musafare who had been admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital was taken to South Africa by his relatives where he is receiving treatment at an unnamed hospital.
What next?
Mr Moyo who has seen it all and is also a community leader says they do not want to see more loss of lives at the Nketa house and their hope is that something different be set up instead of a home as it is surrounded by mystery.
However, some suggested a crèche be set up but fears are that the children may be victims of misfortune too. It still remains a mystery what is consuming tenants who live in the Nketa house. Is it a case of paranormal activity or mere coincidence?
