A Plumtree man has been arrested on allegations of murdering his 80-year-old father in cold blood.
The suspect, Soviet Ngwenya (27) from ward 6 Goho village, under Headman Mourning Manguba allegedly stoned to death his elderly father, Kezi Ngwenya, following a dispute over food.
Matabeleland South Police Spokesperson Assistant Inspector, Philisani Ndebele confirmed the incident and urged members of the public to resolve disputes amicably.
‘It happened on the 11th of March around 1600hrs when Soviet Ngwenya approached his father intending to get food but his father said there was no food in the house then he started insulting him,” said Inspector Ndebele.
“He then started beating his father and he hit him with a cement brick on the head and he died on the spot. The accused was arrested and he is at Plumtree Police station,” he said.
When CITE visited the family homestead, mourners were gathered outside the compound together with the deceased’s remains, waiting for one the deceased`s children to arrive from South Africa.
Narrating the ordeal, the deceased’s daughter, Sindisiwe Ngwenya said they suspect his brother was suffering from a mental condition and his late father died when he was trying to sell a donkey to seek medical attention for Soviet at Engutsheni Provincial Hospital in Bulawayo.
In addition, the deceased nephew Qhubekani Ngwenya said his cousin had a violent streak.
“I suspect that he was hungry, that is why he was being violent as it is said that his father was trying to reprimand him to stop spilling water on the floor as his mother was away visiting her sick father in Khame,” he said.
