The Sunday News
IT is the most cruel thing to do — killing your own children. It is common among animals that eat their offspring and species like lions that kill their young to increase access to limited resources.
Apparently humans do too, but not for survival.
In a fit of rage, a parent may kill their children before committing suicide as a way of fixing one’s partner.
This was the case with Joachim Paundi, who was fondly known in the mining town of Shurugwi as “NetOne”, as he was one of the first people to possess a cellphone with a NetOne line.
Paundi left friends and relatives not only dumbfounded but deeply hurt when he killed his children Diana (15), Amo (12) and Nyasha (7) after lacing their drinks with cyanide before dumping their bodies in a disused mine shaft in Shurugwi Town recently.
The baffling incident which occurred on Monday 13 July and looked more like a scene in an African movie, left tongues wagging in Shurugwi.
The four were buried on Thursday, 16 July in the evening in Banda area, Mkandapi in Shurugwi, at Paundi’s rural home.
A gloomy atmosphere engulfed the Paundi homestead at the burial of Joachim and his three minor children, and everyone was in tears.
Everyone at the funeral appeared to be down in the dumps; mourning and grieving for their deceased relatives.
Paundi left behind a number of unanswered questions: why would a man murder his own flesh and blood in such a cruel manner? Though relatives seemed to ponder deeply, nobody seemed to have an answer to the catastrophe. It was a titanic that sunk and left no survivors.
After travelling close to 100km to Mkandapi area in Shurugwi, the Sunday News crew was greeted by a sombre atmosphere with friends and relatives reluctant to entertain the media as wounds seemed fresh in their hearts. They were also still failing to come to terms with the tragedy that had befallen the family.
After an hour of soliciting for interviews, the crew was granted audience by Paundi’s mother, Mrs Jane Paundi, who seemed distraught and traumatised.
“I still do not believe that my son Joachim did such a horrible thing. If he wanted to die he should have left my grandchildren to live. I have eight children and Joachim was my second born,” she said while trying to hold back her tears.
Mrs Paundi narrated the ordeal to Sunday News.
“He came here on Monday morning and told me that he had come to take me to Shurugwi where my sister’s son had also committed suicide by taking cyanide. He thanked me for bringing him up well and looking after him until he became an adult. He even called me by my totem, something that he had not done in a very long time. He told me that he was tired and wanted to rest. He got into his room and slept while I bathed, preparing to go to Shurugwi.
“When I got back I found him naked in the room and called his father who then told me that he had died. I could not believe it,” she said.
“I called my brother, Mr Tinos Mungenge-Rungani, whom he was working with in Shurugwi and told him what had transpired. I was then told that police were looking for him because he had killed his children.”
Mrs Paundi said Joachim had a dispute with his ex-wife over the custody of the children.
“What happened is his wife, Eunice, left him and he married another woman. The two were now fighting over the custody of the children. On the fateful day, Eunice is said to have poured a bucket full of water on Joachim’s bed where he was sleeping with his new wife. This did not go down well with him. We suspect that this and other issues could have led him to kill his children and commit suicide. I still do not believe that my son could do such a thing. I am still in pain,” she said.
Paundi’s sister, Edna, said she was still failing to come to grips with the situation.
“I know my brother had a bad temper but I never thought it would come to this. We are deeply saddened. We know they were fighting with his ex-wife but we thought they would reach a compromise like they have always done,” she said.
Paundi’s uncle, Mr Tinos “Big Sando” Mungenge-Rungani, narrated how the tragic incident occurred.
He said Paundi had been dragged to court by his ex-wife Eunice over custody of the three children. The matter was supposed to be heard on Tuesday 14 July at the Shurugwi court.
“My nephew, Paundi, had a long standing dispute with his ex-wife Eunice over custody of their three children. The two separated following a series of domestic disputes, most of which degenerated into fist fights. At one point he broke his wife’s hand and was arrested. The two later separated.
“On Monday, at around 7am, Paundi took his three children. Two were in secondary school while the youngest was doing Grade One. He then took them to a nearby mountain where he forced them to take cyanide. When the eldest tried to resist, he crushed her head with a huge stone. This is evident as she had bruises on her face,” he said.
Mr Mungenge-Rungani said after committing the crime, Paundi fled and went to his rural home where he laced whisky with cyanide and drank.
Paundi went on to call his workmate, only identified as Simon, narrating how he had killed his children.
“Simon received a call from Paundi who told him what he had done. We then reported the matter to the police and they retrieved the children’s bodies from the shaft,” he said.
Mr Mungenge-Rungani said Eunice collapsed and later had an emotional breakdown when she received the news.
