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The late Mr Mashudu Mutavhatsindi.

Brother stabbed to death during an argument

 

The residents of Tsianda Muvhunduni wa Ha-Mashamba were shocked when they learned about the death of a man who had allegedly been stabbed by his older brother on Saturday evening.

The 50-year-old Mr Ernest Mutavhatsindi had allegedly returned home from a drinking spree and found his younger brother Mr Mashudu Mutavhatsindi at home. According to the sister of the two brothers, Ms Mulatedzi Mutavhatsindi, the two brothers allegedly argued for some time and the argument ended with Ernest picking up a pair of shears and stabbing Mashudu in the chest.

Mashudu died on the scene and Ernest was arrested the same day.

Mulatedzi said that she received a call informing her about the incident, since she lived in a distant village. “We were informed about Mashudu's death and it came as a shock to learn that the one who had stabbed him was our own older brother,” she said.

“We are hurting as a family,” Mulatedzi said. “Ernest had always been problematic and would fight with his brother whenever he was drunk. We are not sure what they were fighting about. We loved both men and had never thought that one would end up killing the other.”

Another sister, Ms Annah Mutavhatsindi, said that the family was still grappling to come to terms with Mashudu's death and Ernest's arrest. “Ri kha zwililo; ro vhaisala (We are aggrieved),” she said. "We have lost one brother to death, and lost another one to jail."

According to neighbours who declined to be named, the two brothers started arguing when Ernest came back from a local shebeen and found that there was not enough food ready in the house.

“He was hungry and his brother refused him some food,” said a source. “The brother said that Ernest was always buying beer and not food, so there was no need for him to get home and demand food. It's the first time we witnessed a crime of this kind in our village, where a brother kills his own brother. We are shocked.”

The spokesperson for Levubu police, W/O Solly Mukhola, confirmed the incident and said that the police were still not sure what the cause of the fight between the two men was.

“The two men were arguing and the older one stabbed the younger brother in the chest with a sharp object,” Mukhola said. “We are still investigating the circumstances which led to Mashudu's death.”

Ernest appeared in the Vuwani Magistrate's Court and his case was postponed to 15 November for further investigations.

Munna Ndi Nnyi's Mr Bardwell Mufunwaini said that the forum was concerned about the murders of men in society. “If men continue to kill one another, who will look after the children who have been rendered orphans?” he asked. “The shortage of men in our communities due to murders may also cause a situation where five women will fight for one man, and that won't be good.”

Both brothers made a living by performing odd jobs in the village. Mr Mashudu Mutavhatsindi will be laid to rest on Saturday at Tsianda.

Arrested: Mr Ernest Mutavhatsindi. 

Ms Annah Mutavhatsindi and Ms Mulatedzi Mutavhatsindi are two sad sisters.

 

Date:24 October 2014

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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