Angry mob burns down house of missing old man's son

In a strange and shocking turn of events, a distraught family, still frantically searching for their missing relative, was dealt a further blow when their house was burnt down by an unruly mob.

The burning of Mr Thinandavha Walter Mphaya's house at Tshifudi Thondoni came after the disappearance of his father. Almost two weeks have passed since the elderly man, Mr Smuts Mufariseni Mphaya Masotsha, left home to check on his cattle in the local mountains. The 82-year-old man has not returned and has not been seen since. The family, with the help of the police and the community, have searched everywhere, even enlisting the services of a police helicopter, but to no avail. The burning of the house is a double blow for a family still trying to locate the missing elderly man.

Ms Muneiwa Mphaya, whose family house was burnt, said the whole ordeal started on Sunday, 9 June, when the community held a meeting. “It was during that meeting that community members started accusing my father of having a hand in the disappearance of my grandfather. A mob later came to our house and warned that we should vacate the house before 17:00 the following day or they would burn it down. They indeed carried out their threat, as on the evening of Monday, 10 June, they attacked and completely burnt down the seven-room house. We were hiding in the thatched house and saw them, some even stealing our pigs. We lost everything; we are left with only the clothes we are wearing. All the books, uniforms for the learners, furniture, and everything that was in the house have been burnt. We do not have anything as a family, as no one in the family is working. We do not even know what will become of the children when schools reopen,” she said.

Muneiwa said she did not understand why their house had been attacked. “What have we done to deserve this? This is unfair, how can they punish us for something we do not even know about? If they have evidence that my father is responsible for my grandfather's disappearance, why didn't they call the police to arrest him? We hope the police will work speedily and arrest the perpetrators,” Muneiwa said.

Date:14 June 2024

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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