Man douses sleeping family with diesel, sets them alight

A 37-YEAR-OLD Chinamhora man is suspected to have suffered mental challenges during the night and doused his sleeping family with diesel before setting them alight, killing a child in the process.

The incident, which left most of the Molife villagers in shock, occurred on May 4, 2011 and Godfrey Shawo has been in remand prison since then.

Shawo this week appeared at the High Court seeking bail and his matter was postponed to next week as the State was awaiting a psychiatric report to determine whether the suspect would not be a danger to society if released on bail.

Allegations against Shawo are that on the day in question, he woke up during the night, grabbed a diesel container and sprinkled the fuel on the blankets while his wife and four children were fast asleep.

The State alleges after soaking the blankets with diesel, Shawo proceeded to set them on fire and one of his children died in the inferno, while his wife and three other children managed to escape with burns.

Apparently, when Shawo was busy sprinkling the diesel onto the blankets and setting them alight, he was seen by one of his daughters who screamed raising alarm prompting her mother to wake up and react to the incident.

In response to his bail application, the Prosecutor-General (PG)'s Office said in the absence of a medical report, it would be difficult to consent to Shawo's release on bail.

"In view of this, respondent is unable to meaningfully respond to the application until such a time there are recommendations on his mental state showing that he is not likely to endanger the safety of the public or any other persons or commit an offence," the State said.