Family demands 48 cattle after son-in-law murders their 4 daughters

A FAMILY from Gokwe is demanding 48 cattle to appease avenging spirits following the brutal murder and burning of the bodies of four of their children.

The alleged killer, Dingilizwe Dube (38), who is on the run, has allegedly confessed to killing the four sisters and expressed willingness to pay compensation.

He allegedly approached his family following the burial of the Dlomo siblings on Wednesday at Chirima village in Gokwe South to open negotiations for compensation.

Dube, who was the Dlomos' son-in-law, allegedly brutally murdered the four sisters and axed their family's eight cattle last week on Friday.

The suspect is alleged to have abandoned his family for South Africa and when his wife of five years approached his parents saying there was nothing to feed her two children, they allegedly gave her sorghum and told her to brew beer for sale.

This allegedly angered the murder suspect who is alleged to have phoned her saying he was going to come back and kill her as she was embarrassing him by selling beer.

His wife, Privilege, who is in her 20s, then allegedly escaped from her matrimonial home to her family home.

When her husband finally came for her, Privilege managed to escape, leaving her siblings at his mercy.

Dube allegedly killed the four siblings, Peculiar (4), Princess (13), Preference (15) and Progress (19) and burnt their bodies.

Following the burial of the four sisters on Wednesday, Dube allegedly sent his family members to the Dlomos the following day in the afternoon to "confess" to the crime.

He allegedly offered to compensate the Dlomos, fearing avenging spirits.

The Dlomo family spokesperson, Mr Witness Sibanda, who is brother to Ema Sibanda, the mother to Dube's four victims, confirmed that the alleged killer's family had approached them saying they had been sent by Dube.

Dube remains in hiding and police who are hunting for him say there are indications that he used either petrol or diesel to burn his victims.

Mr Sibanda said Dube first axed the four sisters and burnt their bodies, but their heads were not beheaded as previously alleged.

"The Dubes approached us and told us that their son is the one who killed our four daughters. It is because we openly spoke at the funeral that we were going to take strong measures to deal with the matter in the best way we knew possible, the African way. They have since come and we have made our demands," said Mr Sibanda.

He said they demanded 48 cattle from the Dubes as compensation.

"For each one of our daughters, we want 10 beasts. We also want those eight beasts that he axed in the kraal. We want this payment very fast so that we can appease the ancestors and so that they do not face the wrath of our spirits," Mr Sibanda said.

He said after killing the four siblings, Dube also allegedly sent a message to his father-in-law threatening him with death.

"During the funeral wake before the burial, our son-in-law sent a message to Dlomo and threatened to link him with his departed daughters.

"He said he was not yet done with the family and was yet to do worse. After that he just switched off his phone. Our daughter married a monster," Mr Sibanda said.

He said Privilege, the eldest daughter, has now moved to her uncle's home in Gweru and would no longer return to her "killer" husband.

Mr Sibanda said Dube was angry that his wife approached her in-laws when she and her children had no food while he was away in South Africa.

"He deserted his wife and children and went to South Africa. Privilege was suffering with her kids and approached her in-laws for help. Her father-in-law gave her sorghum to brew beer and sell it to earn a living.

"Apparently Dingilizwe got angry about it and called, threatening to kill her, saying no wife of his would sell beer. That is when she fled her home and returned to us," he said.