Family of 16 unmarried women

THREE Chimanimani siblings have sought the assistance of a traditional court to find out why 16 of their female relatives between the ages of 20 and 40 are not yet married.

Loveness Chihota (34), Anniah Chokera (27) and Liberty Chokera said they are curious to know what could be causing the marriage delays.

The trio also accused their uncles of wizardry.

The three dragged their uncles Oliver, Nobert, Lovemore, John, Ngwarirai and Tendai Chokera to Acting Chief Saurombe’s court.

In an interview last week on Sunday, Annaiah said although they have lost hope of ever getting married, they are now fighting for their younger siblings.

She said each time one of them elopes, she is shown the exit door within a week as they manifest with some spirit demanding them back home.

“We are cousins suffering from this strange phenomenon. In fact, a total of 16 women are not married in our family. We have tried to seek audience with our fathers, but it seems as if all of them do not care.

“They act as if they are working in cohorts to stop us from getting married. We have secretly approached spiritual healers and we were told that our fathers are behind our suffering,” said Anniah.

“It is getting out of hand because when one of us elopes, they are possessed by an unknown spirit and manifests in front of the in-laws. Within a week, they would have sent you back to your parents’ home. This has been happening for a long time. Most of us have encountered this,” she said.

Loveness said despite being gifted with good looks, men in the area now dread befriending or dating women from her family.

“We have tried to engage our fathers over this issue, but our pleas have been falling on deaf ears. We decided to seek the services of the traditional courts for our plea to be heard. We are good looking, but potential suitors from our area no longer want to get close to us,” she said.

Loveness also said some of their siblings suffer from bouts of mental illness.

Testifying before the same court, Liberty said some of his siblings mysteriously disappear at night.

“We have been assisted by the local neighbourhood police to look for our siblings following their mysterious disappearances. It looks like they sleep walk but when you question them over the issue, they say an invisible person whips them and orders them to leave the house.

“Our parents have tried to sleep with the children in their bedrooms but this has not helped in any way. Even if you lock the doors, the children will leave the rooms,” he said.

Responding to the allegations on behalf of all his brothers, Nobert said they are equally concerned with what is happening in their family.

“No father wants to see his daughter remain single forever. Our daughters are very beautiful and we also wonder why no one is trying to seek their hands in marriage. We have tried everything to address this anomaly with no joy. We do not know who is behind this, but the truth is that no one among us is responsible,” he said.

The family was referred to a traditional healer.

However, the traditional healer ordered them to come back with their brother, Tendai, who was absent on the day.

The matter was adjourned to October 22.