News / National
'Masendeke family is cursed,' says mum
13 Apr 2013 at 05:11hrs | Views
THE mother of the three Masendeke brothers, two of whom are on the run after allegedly murdering a reveller at a Kwekwe bar recently, Mrs Martha Masendeke, believes her family is cursed and only God has the power to end their recurrent brush with the law that has earned them countrywide notoriety.
Mrs Masendeke (50), a widow and mother of six children including Ernest, Edward and Elson, says she has of late been finding it even difficult to eat because of problems that keep haunting her children.
The three Masendeke siblings recently made headlines after they allegedly killed Jonathan Mpofu in Mbizo 4, Kwekwe, following an altercation in a bar.
Police managed to arrest Elson from his alleged hideout in Kadoma but Ernest and Edward are still on the run.
The trio are also younger brothers to the late notorious armed robber, murderer and kidnapper Edgar Edmund Masendeke, who was hanged after committing a series of crimes that at one time made him the most wanted criminal in Zimbabwe.
Speaking to The Herald from her home in Pfambi village in Mukaro communal lands in Gutu on Thursday, Mrs Masendeke bared all saying she was very hurt that her children kept on being involved in one misfortune after another.
Mrs Masendeke said she had since resigned her family's fate into God's hands.
"I think the family (Masendeke) is cursed. How else can one explain the recurrent problems that we always have? I believe strongly that the problems are being caused by a curse in the family and only God has the answer to our woes. God will one day hear our prayers. I really do not know how to explain the nature of problems that we always have," said Mrs Masendeke.
Biblical verses from Deuteronomy 28 verse 3 and Psalms 29 verse 1 were inscribed on the walls of her kitchen.
She claimed that she had been finding it hard to eat ever since she discovered that her three children were on the run and wanted by police for murder.
"I am hardly eating food these days because I am hurt. I cannot explain how these problems keep on coming back to haunt the family and disturbing the lives of my children. I am worried because I do not even know where the other two (Edward and Ernest) are.
"I know they have already locked up Elson, but I leave everything in God's hands," the dejected mother said.
The mother of six expressed unhappiness that the Masendeke name was now associated with heinous crimes like murder owing to incessant bad publicity especially by the press and the public.
She alleged that even criminals were taking advantage of the bad publicity associated with the Masendeke name to commit crimes.
"There is now a lot of bad publicity on the name Masendeke. I am not happy that our name is being dragged through the mud in the press and radios. What hurts me most is that even some other criminals are now just committing crimes using the Masendeke name," she said.
Mrs Masendeke also claimed that her children were soft people though she admitted that her late husband Timothy Masendeke's side of the family had a reputation of being good fighters.
"My children are very soft and sometimes people provoke them but one thing that I know is that even their late father was a very good fighter. The family is known for its physical fighting prowess. The Masendekes are very good fighters," she conceded.
She, however, blamed her stepson Edgar Edmund Masendeke for precipitating the bad image tag on the Masendeke family.
"All the problems that we have started with the late Edmund, he was my husband's son from another wife and I put all the blame on him. That is where all the problems that are affecting us came from. The name and image of the family took a dip following his reign of terror and we have never managed to recover from that. I think we need to cleanse the family," she said.
Mr Wiston Pote who is an uncle to the Masendeke family concurred with Mrs Masendeke saying all the problems haunting them started with the late notorious Edgar Edmund.
Mrs Masendeke said she had six children with her late husband Timothy whom she married in 1980 but he had had nine other children - including the notorious Edgar - with his first wife bringing the total to 16 children.
Mrs Masendeke (50), a widow and mother of six children including Ernest, Edward and Elson, says she has of late been finding it even difficult to eat because of problems that keep haunting her children.
The three Masendeke siblings recently made headlines after they allegedly killed Jonathan Mpofu in Mbizo 4, Kwekwe, following an altercation in a bar.
Police managed to arrest Elson from his alleged hideout in Kadoma but Ernest and Edward are still on the run.
The trio are also younger brothers to the late notorious armed robber, murderer and kidnapper Edgar Edmund Masendeke, who was hanged after committing a series of crimes that at one time made him the most wanted criminal in Zimbabwe.
Speaking to The Herald from her home in Pfambi village in Mukaro communal lands in Gutu on Thursday, Mrs Masendeke bared all saying she was very hurt that her children kept on being involved in one misfortune after another.
Mrs Masendeke said she had since resigned her family's fate into God's hands.
"I think the family (Masendeke) is cursed. How else can one explain the recurrent problems that we always have? I believe strongly that the problems are being caused by a curse in the family and only God has the answer to our woes. God will one day hear our prayers. I really do not know how to explain the nature of problems that we always have," said Mrs Masendeke.
Biblical verses from Deuteronomy 28 verse 3 and Psalms 29 verse 1 were inscribed on the walls of her kitchen.
She claimed that she had been finding it hard to eat ever since she discovered that her three children were on the run and wanted by police for murder.
"I know they have already locked up Elson, but I leave everything in God's hands," the dejected mother said.
The mother of six expressed unhappiness that the Masendeke name was now associated with heinous crimes like murder owing to incessant bad publicity especially by the press and the public.
She alleged that even criminals were taking advantage of the bad publicity associated with the Masendeke name to commit crimes.
"There is now a lot of bad publicity on the name Masendeke. I am not happy that our name is being dragged through the mud in the press and radios. What hurts me most is that even some other criminals are now just committing crimes using the Masendeke name," she said.
Mrs Masendeke also claimed that her children were soft people though she admitted that her late husband Timothy Masendeke's side of the family had a reputation of being good fighters.
"My children are very soft and sometimes people provoke them but one thing that I know is that even their late father was a very good fighter. The family is known for its physical fighting prowess. The Masendekes are very good fighters," she conceded.
She, however, blamed her stepson Edgar Edmund Masendeke for precipitating the bad image tag on the Masendeke family.
"All the problems that we have started with the late Edmund, he was my husband's son from another wife and I put all the blame on him. That is where all the problems that are affecting us came from. The name and image of the family took a dip following his reign of terror and we have never managed to recover from that. I think we need to cleanse the family," she said.
Mr Wiston Pote who is an uncle to the Masendeke family concurred with Mrs Masendeke saying all the problems haunting them started with the late notorious Edgar Edmund.
Mrs Masendeke said she had six children with her late husband Timothy whom she married in 1980 but he had had nine other children - including the notorious Edgar - with his first wife bringing the total to 16 children.
Source - TC
