The father of four children who were killed by their mother in Chivhu on Tuesday, Lameck Brande, said it would have been better if his wife had killed him instead.
In an interview with The Herald in Chivhu on Thursday, Brande narrated how he was told of a fire at his Hillsview home and later saw the carnage that had been left behind by his wife Emelda Marazani. He said:
When I heard that the house was in flames, I was at the shop and I quickly rushed home. I looked everywhere for the children but could not see any.
Together with my friends, we managed to break burglar bars of one of the windows and I rushed in. When I entered one of the rooms, I found two of my children covered in blankets and as I tried to pull them out, I discovered that their throats were slit. Vaiva vakachekwa muhuro nebanga zvakare vaiva vatofa.
I managed to pull them out. I proceeded to the other rooms and found my two elder daughters already burnt, they were tied with a rope.
When I heard that their mother had gone out running, I drove to the police station to make a report, thinking that after making a report I will then start searching for her.
I was surprised to see her already at the police station. She told me there that she had killed our children. She then said that she had drunk poison.
In no time, she collapsed and I poured her some water and she regained consciousness. I then used my car to rush her to the hospital.
The couple’s children are Amanda (9), Yolander (5), Ayender (3) and Galender (1) and two of them were burnt beyond recognition.
Bande revealed that tension between them started when his wife saw a suspicious message on his phone, which also led her to destroy his mobile phones.
He said he thought the issue was over and did not suspect she would kill the children.
The four bodies are all in Chivhu General Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.