DADDY NAMATAI: Son sent message to father just before they were poisoned to death by stepmother… Father reveals everything

Victor Makarimai says he lived in fear during the final years of his marriage. He has described being attacked, choked and threatened with knives by his wife, Vimbai Mushava, and says there were times he would wait for her to fall asleep before he dared to go to bed himself.

In one account of their confrontations, Victor said Mushava grabbed his private parts. He also described an incident in which she attacked him and tried to choke him. In a video, Victor also reveals how Vimbai would grab his private parts or attack him at knife point during confrontations. “Ndakapotsa ndafa,” he said.

Those accounts have surfaced after the deaths of Victor’s two sons, Emmanuel, 14, and Tanaka, 12, who died at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare on Thursday, November 5. The brothers became ill after reportedly eating ice cream during a journey from Rusape. They began vomiting and complaining of severe stomach pains. Police are seeking Mushava for questioning over the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

The father, known among truck drivers and online as Boss Vikela, says his family’s troubles had grown over years of arguments, disputes about money and a house he built for his mother, and conflict surrounding Mushava’s pregnancy. His account also includes a short message from Emmanuel, sent shortly before the boys’ final journey: “Daddy namatai” — “Dad, please pray.”

A journey that ended at Parirenyatwa

Emmanuel, a Grade 7 pupil, had finished writing his examinations and was no longer attending classes. Tanaka was in Grade 5 at Mabvazuwa Primary School in Rusape. He was last seen at school on Monday. From Tuesday, the school had no information about why he was absent or where he was.

“We agreed over the phone last Tuesday that Vimbai would bring the children from Rusape to Mbare, en route to Concession,” she said.

“On Wednesday, I waited for them at Mbare Musika, as we had agreed, but they did not arrive. On Thursday, I received a call from Parirenyatwa Police Post informing me that the children had been admitted to hospital and were vomiting. I went to the hospital to check on them. When I arrived, I learnt that Tanaka had died, while Emmanuel was fighting for his life. A few minutes later, Emmanuel died.”

The account from Mabvazuwa Primary School headmaster Bennedict Dadaya describes the children falling ill after eating ice cream and being driven to hospital. Dadaya said the driver arranged for the boys to be attended to after their stepmother reportedly disappeared at the hospital.

“The elder brother was not attending school since he had finished writing examinations. The Grade Five pupil last reported to school on Monday. From Tuesday onwards he was absent and we had no information on why he was not attending and his whereabouts. I am told that they were staying with a step mother. I heard she took them to Harare. It is said they were given a lift by an individual. The children ate some ice cream and started vomiting and complaining of severe stomach aches. The driver rushed the mother and the children to Parirenyatwa Hospital. Whilst at the hospital it is said the mother disappeared before they were admitted. The driver is the one who did the paper work for the children to be attended. We are so saddened as a school to lose such young souls. We are devastated,” said Dadaya.

The details in the accounts describe different parts of the journey. Jose’s account was of an agreed meeting in Mbare that never took place, followed by a call from the hospital. Dadaya spoke of the boys’ illness and the driver taking them for treatment. Together they place the children’s final hours between Rusape, the planned visit with their mother and the hospital in Harare.

A marriage marked by fear, he says

Victor said arguments between him and Mushava had become frequent and intense. He described the relationship with the words “taigara tichinetsana”. He said he had been attacked physically and that his wife’s behaviour made him fear for his safety at home.

He said Mushava sometimes wielded a knife during arguments. The threats left him so anxious that he did not feel safe falling asleep before she did. Victor said he would stay awake until he knew she had gone to sleep, worried about what could happen while he was vulnerable.

He also described a specific physical confrontation in which, he said, Mushava grabbed his private parts. Victor said he had previously been choked during an attack and connected that experience to his statement that he had almost died. He also said during another fight, Vimbai grabbed his balls and held them so tight.

The claims are part of Victor’s account of his marriage, which he shared with relatives and community members after returning to Zimbabwe. They give a picture of a home in which, he says, ordinary disagreements had escalated into physical confrontations and threats. His account places the conflict well before the boys became ill.

Victor’s relatives have described a separate confrontation involving his sister. They said he had become worried about the boys’ welfare and sent his sister to Rusape to take them away from Mushava. According to the family’s account, Mushava refused to let the children go and struck the aunt with a brick. The account has added to the family’s description of the strain around the boys’ care before their deaths.

A dispute over a house built for Victor’s mother was another source of tension, according to relatives. They said Victor had built the house without first consulting Mushava. The disagreement deepened friction in a marriage that had lasted 6 years, the family said.

Victor and Mushava were both long-distance truck drivers. He said they worked together on international routes, taking turns driving the same truck. The work meant sharing long hours and close quarters on the road. Victor’s account says that, as the marriage deteriorated, their disagreements followed them into a demanding working life spent travelling together.

After 6 years of marriage without a child together, Mushava became pregnant, Victor said. He claimed she later told him she regretted the pregnancy and wanted to terminate it. He said she felt that a baby would interfere with her work and personal freedom as a truck driver, and that she had begun to think about leaving the marriage.

Victor’s account links these arguments to a growing breakdown between the couple. He has spoken about the house dispute, the pregnancy and the pressure of their shared work as parts of a relationship that had become increasingly difficult. His story is now being heard alongside the police search for Mushava and the unanswered questions surrounding the deaths of his sons.

Emmanuel’s message to his father

The final message Victor says he received from Emmanuel was short: “Daddy namatai.” The words mean “Dad, please pray.” Victor said the boy sent them shortly before he and Tanaka became ill.

He said the brothers had attended a service at an Apostolic church, where a prophet spoke of an evil spirit hovering over the family. Victor recalled the phrases “mweya we rufu” and “mweya wakaipa”, describing a spirit of death or an evil spirit. According to the father, Emmanuel was shaken by what he had heard and contacted him in Poland.

Victor has said he now looks back on the message with deep sorrow. It is the detail that draws together the father’s account of conflict at home and the tragedy that followed. He was working thousands of kilometres away when his son reached out to him, and he could not be with the boys during the crisis.

The brothers’ last days began amid a complicated journey to Harare. Emmanuel had completed his examinations and had stopped attending school. Tanaka, a Grade 5 pupil, was last seen at school on Monday. From Tuesday onwards, the school had no information about his whereabouts or why he was absent.

The children’s biological mother, Loice Jose, said she was expecting them in Harare before they continued to Concession. She said she and Mushava had agreed by telephone that the boys would be brought to Mbare Musika. Jose waited for them at the terminus on Wednesday, but they did not arrive.

“We agreed over the phone last Tuesday that Vimbai would bring the children from Rusape to Mbare, en route to Concession,” she said.

“On Wednesday, I waited for them at Mbare Musika, as we had agreed, but they did not arrive. On Thursday, I received a call from Parirenyatwa Police Post informing me that the children had been admitted to hospital and were vomiting. I went to the hospital to check on them. When I arrived, I learnt that Tanaka had died, while Emmanuel was fighting for his life. A few minutes later, Emmanuel died.”

A school and family left grieving

Mabvazuwa Primary School headmaster Bennedict Dadaya said Tanaka had last attended classes on Monday. Emmanuel was no longer attending because he had completed his examinations. Dadaya said the school was devastated by the deaths and recounted what staff had heard about the journey to Harare.

“The elder brother was not attending school since he had finished writing examinations. The Grade Five pupil last reported to school on Monday. From Tuesday onwards he was absent and we had no information on why he was not attending and his whereabouts. I am told that they were staying with a step mother. I heard she took them to Harare. It is said they were given a lift by an individual. The children ate some ice cream and started vomiting and complaining of severe stomach aches. The driver rushed the mother and the children to Parirenyatwa Hospital. Whilst at the hospital it is said the mother disappeared before they were admitted. The driver is the one who did the paper work for the children to be attended. We are so saddened as a school to lose such young souls. We are devastated,” said Dadaya.

The mother’s account describes her waiting for the boys and then reaching the hospital after being contacted by the police post. Dadaya’s account describes a driver taking the children for care after they became sick and completing their admission paperwork. Both accounts place the boys’ final hours at Parirenyatwa, where Tanaka died first and Emmanuel followed minutes later, according to Jose.

Victor’s story now reaches beyond those final hours. He has described a marriage that, in his account, had become frightening and volatile, while relatives have spoken of conflict over the boys and the house built for his mother. And amid those memories, he has returned to the message from his eldest son: “Daddy namatai.”

Mushava is being sought for questioning as police investigate the circumstances surrounding the brothers’ deaths. The boys’ family and school continue to mourn Emmanuel and Tanaka, while Victor says he is left with the knowledge that his son had reached out to him shortly before the tragedy.

A separate child death was also reported in Harare during the same week. Nine-year-old Prospect Zvemarima of Dzivarasekwa Extension developed stomach problems after receiving rice and a drink from a neighbour, his mother said. The incident is separate from the Makarimai brothers’ deaths, and no connection between the cases has been reported.