Following the tragic death of twins Samukelisiwe and Attalia Zhou from Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North province, who were gunned down in South Africa recently, the family of the killer has reportedly paid four cows and R16 000 to fulfil the request for a cleansing ritual before burial.
Richard Mpofu, uncle of Justin Mahlaba, who is accused of shooting dead the twins, one of them being his wife before turning the gun on himself, said they paid four cows and R16 000 for a cleansing ritual to the Zhou family.
He said the Zhou family demanded the cows and refused to bury the deceased until they were compensated.
“Most of these arrangements were made by our family members in South Africa. Here at home (Gokwe), the family ordered me to release four cows and give them to the Zhou family so that they can do a cleansing ritual for the deceased twins to be buried.
“The Zhou family refused to bury the twins if we didn’t give them the cows, perhaps as compensation. This is what I know from my end. The family members in South Africa also paid R16 000 in cash,” said Mpofu.
Last week, B-Metro visited the Zhou homestead at Madlelenyoni in Ntabazinduna where the twins were laid to rest on Sunday.
The late twins’ brother Thulani, said they were horrified by the incident as he described his sisters as non-violent people. He also said that what Justin did (killing his sisters) was uncalled for and said that the Mahlaba family has to appease the Zhou ancestors by paying a certain number of cows so that they can do a cleansing ceremony for the departed.
“What usibare (brother-in-law) did is uncalled for. As a family, we are devastated by his actions because my sisters didn’t deserve to die that way. Yes, they might have had a dispute with him but I believe the matter could have been dealt with in a better manner.
They were very humble and quiet people as I never saw them fighting or being violent even during our times of growing up. We are at a great loss and for that, the Mahlaba family has to pay something so that we clean this ngozi (avenging spirit), so that we appease the ancestors and allow our sisters to rest in peace,” said Thulani.
In a video that circulated last week on social media, the elder brother of the late twins, Farai, said that Samukelisiwe was shot dead by her husband identified as Justin from Gokwe after the two had a marital dispute in South Africa where they lived.
“The husband then shot Attalia. The two were killed during a family meeting, where the family was trying to resolve the couple’s differences.”
After killing the twins and trying to kill Farai and his wife, Justice also shot himself dead.
“My sisters were shot dead last week when we were having a family meeting consisting of six people — myself, my two late sisters, my brother-in-law (late), my wife and my younger brother Freddy. We started the meeting with a prayer.
“Everyone narrated their views and one of the twin sisters who was the one married to Mahlaba told us that she wanted to separate from her husband as she was tired of being abused and that is when all hell broke loose,” narrated Farai.
He continued, “My brother-in-law got angry and took out a gun and shot his wife in our presence and Freddy then ran for his life. He then went on to shoot Attalia. He shot his wife for the second time when she showed some signs of life and went on to point the gun at my wife. Luckily, the gun malfunctioned and when my wife realised that, she ran for her life and she was saved by a neighbour who hid her in her house.
“My brother-in-law then came back to the house after he failed to catch my wife and tried to shoot me but he failed as the gun jammed again. He then went to the balcony and I assumed that he wanted to throw himself off the balcony but after a few minutes, I heard a gunshot.
“He had killed himself. I remained on the ground and waited for the police to come,” said Farai. BMetro.
