The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THE loss of a spouse is devastating.
What about the loss of a husband while expecting a child?
Unimaginable!
That is the grim reality being faced by the widow of one of the five Zimbabweans who died in an inferno which razed a residential flat in South Africa last week.
A one-minute, 13 seconds long video clip went viral on the WhatsApp platform last week, with a raging fire seen destroying a two-storey residential flat.
Bewildered onlookers are heard on the video clip panicking as fire fighters ran out of water while trying to douse out the inferno.
Never Jera, aged 40, was burnt beyond recognition and mourners are gathered at his home in Garikai high-density suburb of Chikanga, Mutare. He died together with four other Zimbabweans who resided at the same flat.
Royce Jera, brother to the deceased said, “This has been very difficult for us as a family. It is painful. He had turned 40 on April 20. It is really sad. My brother had one child and his wife is actually expecting their second child.”
From what the Jera family gathered, only two people survived after jumping from the second floor. They are still in hospital.
“Witnesses are saying they are not sure how the fire started. Some suspect that it could have been an electrical fault still some are saying they did not have electricity when the incident occurred. There is even suspicion that it could have been a petrol bomb. It is not clear yet,” said Royce.
“Maybe we will get to hear the correct version when the two who are still in hospital able to speak on what transpired,” he said.
As they grieve over the loss of their loved one, the Jera family is not only putting up with the pain of the untimely death of a breadwinner, but have to shoulder the burden of meeting DNA test costs.
“We were told that the South African government does not have the money to meet DNA test costs, therefore we had no choice but to chip in as a family to meet the costs.
“This happened when we least expected it and I am sure you are aware of the trauma that comes with such sad occurrences,” said Royce.
He said they are expecting to receive Never’s remains in two to three weeks time.
It is understood that the other unnamed Zimbabweans who died in the inferno are a couple that hails from Buhera and their child as well as a Rusape resident.
