Weeping corpse tragedy

Ray Bande Senior Reporter

THE body of a Chigodora woman who died last Friday after being attacked by a cock wept two days after being placed in a mortuary, much to the bewilderment of relatives and friends who attended the funeral.

Chandapiwa Makaza nee Bushu’s death set different social media platforms ablaze following events that occurred just before and after her death.

At the time of death, Bushu was 42.

Makaza, a Reformed Church University graduate, was supposed to have started work with a development partner on July 6, the day her body was buried.

The Weekender visited the Makaza homestead in Mutare rural to get an in-depth understanding of the mysterious events leading to Bushu’s death.

As expected, finding the way to the Makaza homestead, perched up on the slopes of a mountainous terrain of Chigodora Village, was not difficult as villagers were talking about the nasty incident.

The deceased’s husband, Lancelot Makaza (50), is yet to come to terms with the incident.

During an interview with The Weekender, he was still visibly in grief.

After moments of gathering himself, Makaza managed to give a blow by blow account of his wife’s death.

“My wife’s death remains a puzzle to us. The whole thing started with us exchanging cocks with a fellow villager. This was the second time to borrow the cock.

“We first borrowed it in June (last month) and we had to return it after it attacked my wife. The owner told us that it was a common phenomenon for a cock to behave that way. He actually told us that the cock mainly attacks women.

“We then decided to borrow it again last week since we were interested in the breed. It was a very big breed, much bigger than the ones we are used to.

“The cock once again attacked my wife. This time it actually wounded her leg.

“That wound ended up producing pus on her swollen leg. She complained of excruciating pain. She did not want any contact on the wound, even from a blanket.

“The night before she died, I spent the whole night holding the blanket above her skin,” he said.

Makaza revealed that his wife’s body wept in the mortuary.

“We were shocked by what we witnessed in the mortuary when we went to collect her body for burial two days after placing her body there. She was visibly weeping, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“We arranged to have her body cleaned as per tradition. Our elders told us that this was a clear sign that she had died a painful death,” he said.

He said their family religion does not allow them to consult spiritualists after someone’s death.

“When such things happen, several schools of thought are proffered. We belong to the Zion Christian Church and we have not thought about consulting traditional healers over this. We leave everything to God,” he said.

Asked about his wife’s medical history, Makaza said she had a long standing heart problem.

“She had a heart problem. We were actually sourcing financial resources for her to have an X-ray taken and subsequently get treatment. But this is not to say she died because of her heart ailment. She had not complained of heart pain in recent months.”

Makaza said had it not been for the Covid-19 lockdown, his wife would have graduated in June.

“It is sad, we had sacrificed a lot towards her education. She had just completed her university studies and would have graduated in June. She was supposed to start work on July 6, the day we buried her,” he said.

A close neighbour and family friend who is a medical practitioner, Maengeni Bingadadi said Bushu could have succumbed to sepsis after being attacked by the cock.

“It is unfortunate that the post mortem was not done due to complications of the situation.

“However, when I saw her, I was somehow convinced that she succumbed to sepsis after sustaining a wound from the cock attack. I cannot officially declare sepsis as the cause of her death, but I want to enlighten others on what could have possibly happened.

“The wound was not treated when she was attacked by the cock and that could have led to a more serious infection. We live in a world that has divergent beliefs and we really cannot stop people from talking,” she said.

According to online sources, sepsis is a life-threatening infection.

Sepsis occurs when chemicals released in the bloodstream to fight an infection trigger inflammation throughout the body.

This can cause a cascade of changes that damage multiple organ systems, leading them to fail, sometimes even resulting in death.

In an interview with Zimpapers radio station Diamond FM, the owner of the said cock, Zvikomborero Takarinda, said the cock was in the habit of attacking women.

“This was just a different breed and people always borrowed it because of its size. This is not the first time that this family had borrowed it.

“I have never used the cock for any other purpose apart from breeding. However, the cock was in the habit of attacking people, especially women,” he said.

Mr Takarinda uncontrollably wept when villagers who had gathered for the funeral demanded that the cock be killed and burnt.

With tears running down his cheeks, Takarinda was forced to kill and burn it before the crowd.

However, only its feathers were burnt before dogs from the neighborhood came in to enjoy a tasty meal.