In a fit of rage, a man in Plumtree allegedly fatally struck an elderly woman with an axe and torched the homestead in a dispute R2000 debt.
A source who spoke to CITE on condition of anonymity said the incident occurred in the wee hours of Friday in Malalume village.
The source said the man, only identified as Zibi, is a relative to the bereaved family and he had been contracted to build some houses at the homestead.
“Zibi is a builder and he is related to the family he attacked. He had been asked to build some structures at the homestead. From the amount he had charged, there was an outstanding amount of ZAR2 000. Sometime last week he went to the homestead and demanded his money from the maid. He was very violent and, in the process, broke her phone,” the source said.
“The matter was reported to Madlambudzi police. After the attack, the owner of the homestead sent the outstanding amount but suggested that due to Zibi’s conduct, it would be best if he collected his money from the police station in order to avoid further altercations.”
The source said Zibi returned to the homestead in the wee hours of Friday and demanded his money and when they told him to collect his money from the police, he went berserk.
“Zibi became violent and set fire to one of the houses. The maid took five children who were at the homestead (two are hers and the other three she was looking after) and fled, leaving her mother behind,” the source said.
“After realising that the maid had fled with the children, he torched the rest of the houses. He took an axe and fatally hit the maid’s mother before fleeing the scene. Police are still looking for him but to no avail.”
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena said they had not yet received the report from Madlambudzi station.
