Tinashe Mlambo
Weekender Reporter
A CHIGODORA woman is up in arms with her bitter children who are baying for her blood, accusing her of witchcraft, and afflicting them with a myriad of misfortunes.
The under fire woman, Lisa Mangurenje, and one of her children, John Chiutsi, appeared before Mutare magistrate, Mr Xavier Chipato, with the former applying for a protection order.
Mr Chipato granted the protection order.
Mangurenje told the court that the children she laboured to deliver have become a thorn in her flesh by accusing her of orchestrating their misfortunes.
“When I gave birth to my children, I dedicated them to Jesus, and they grew up in church, but over the last two years, they stopped attending the church. They said they were now believing in ancestral spirits. My son now consults traditional healers, whom he believes tell him the truth. He told me that at one point he visited a traditional healer with his sisters, who told them that I was behind their misfortunes, including him not being able to have a stable marriage. Since then, they have been besieging my house disturbing my peace.
“I think the only mistake I made was to give birth to them because ever since the death of their father, they ceased respecting me. They also blame me for their father’s death,” she said, adding that only last week, the children stormed her homestead, demanding that she accompanies them to a traditional healer.
“I refused because I am a Christian. Even prior to my parents’ death, they never yanked me to a traditional healer. I am appearing before this court to help me to ensure that I enjoy peace at my house. They have barred their children from visiting me, which breaks my heart. I am kindly asking this court to grant me a protection order because these children may either kill or bury me alive one day,” she said.
Chiutsi admitted that he believes that his mother was responsible for all their misfortunes. He said they will never see eye-to-eye with Mangurenje because of what she did to them.
“Just to mention a few of the challenges we are facing because of this woman – my children are always sick, and I have married more than seven wives, who all ended up ditching me. No woman wants to stay with me, and some ended up seeing other man under my roof. I chased away three wives who were not faithful to me, and when I visited a traditional healer with my siblings, we were told that our mother is responsible for all this.
When I confronted her, she chased me out of our father’s house.
“That house is for the family and not hers alone. I want her to understand that if she wants peace, she should reverse whatever she has cast on us, which is causing these misfortunes. Since she has dashed to the courts to run away from her shenanigans, we will grant her the peace she wants and nothing less, but she has ceased be my children’s granny. We will not talk or greet her. She will be a loner until her death because the pain she has inflicted on us in unbearable,” he said.
