A SERIES of mysterious fires that start from thin air have burnt down
a homestead and forced a family from Gwanda in Matabeleland South to
flee. The nine-member family is now living at an open space away from
their home after the fire incidents. The Nkomo family of Tabi Line in
Magaya village, Ward 17 yesterday told The Chronicle how the inexplicable fires have hounded them since October last year.
A police officer reportedly ran for dear life when one of the fires
started in his presence last week. The officer, the family said, had
come to take a statement as police suspected arson. Philemon Nkomo, the
head of the family, whose hands were burnt as he tried to douse flames
from one of the fires, said he had been traumatised by the infernos that
reduced his four-hut-homestead to ashes.
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Villagers in the area said they were shocked with the incidents and
were afraid to assist the Nkomo family. They said they suspected the
“haunted family” could have wronged someone and the mysterious fires
were some form of revenge. “We feel pity for the children but we fear
that if we intervene, the terrible fires might end up spreading to our
homes. We have tried asking the family about the issue but failed to get
any explanation,” said a neighbour Altabel Ndlovu.
“We have never seen such a thing before but in other cultures they
call it ngozi (avenging spirits). In our Ndebele culture we have never
seen such.” The villagers said they believed the family knew the root of
the problem but was hiding it.
Mystery fires guts down homestead | The Chronicle
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