No lobola paid in 9 years, families mourn Nyasha Mhungu and Olga Muzhingi separately… makandinzwa nani paid yesterday

Nyasha Mhungu and Olga Muzhingi, who were recently found dead in their bedroom in Glen View, were living together as man and wife for 9 years, with the former not having paid lobola for his wife.

“The relationship between the families is so tense that they failed to meet at one place. Considering that Nyasha was yet to pay lobola for Olga, the in-laws refused to mourn their daughter at Mhungu’s place. The couple’s church leader, along with his members, are fighting hard to unite the families. Apostle Chikaka has managed to find a breakthrough by meeting both families and they have agreed on the way forward.”

The words came as Apostle Hardlow Chikaka of Baptism of Fire International Ministries, the church attended by the couple, spent much of Thursday meeting members of both families. The church has been attempting to bring them together so that the couple can be buried with their children present, rather than having the funeral arrangements remain divided.

After a marathon meeting, the Mhungu family reportedly paid “mhere” and “makandinzwa nani” yesterday. The payments came as the two families worked through their differences and considered the effect of the deaths on the children left behind.

“He is asking both families to consider the kids left and also consider settling their grievances after laying the couple to rest. The church is mediating for a common cemetery where the children would witness the burial of their parents,” said the source.

Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the force was concerned about the number of murder, attempted murder and suicide cases involving couples and family members. The disputes in several of the cases involved allegations of infidelity.

In Maisa Village, Zhombe, 23-year-old Emily Takadii allegedly had a disagreement with her husband over infidelity allegations on 21 September. Police said she gave a poisonous substance to her sons, Shyne Tavatya, aged six, and Sean Tavatya, aged nine, before swallowing the same substance.

The boys died after being admitted to Kwekwe District Hospital. Their mother remained at the hospital in a critical condition.

The next day, at Marowa Village in Mukumbura, 50-year-old Robert Tashinga allegedly struck his wife, Nollent Sinosi, 36, with an axe after a disagreement over infidelity allegations. Sinosi died at the scene and Tashinga fled.

Also on 22 September, police arrested 27-year-old Kudakwashe Rangarirai in connection with a murder and attempted murder case in Omeath Extension, Mvurwi. He allegedly killed his two-year-old stepson, Prince Owen Mugari, and seriously injured his 23-year-old wife.

Police said Rangarirai then swallowed a poisonous substance and was admitted to Mvurwi Hospital. His wife was receiving treatment in critical condition at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

In Nyamhunga, Kariba, Emmanuel Mpofu, 33, was arrested for attempted murder after allegedly severely assaulting his 25-year-old wife following allegations of infidelity. The woman was being treated at Kariba Hospital.

The Glen View deaths were reported on 23 September, the same day police said the couple were found in their bedroom. “They were found dead in their bedroom,” Nyathi said.

Details emerging from the house describe a relationship that had become increasingly strained. The couple had reportedly sought help from their church leader earlier on Tuesday, but the dispute later escalated. Neighbours said Mhungu had confronted a man he believed was involved with his wife after finding love messages on her mobile phone.

The man described by neighbours as Muzhingi’s suspected lover was severely beaten and was admitted to hospital. “As we speak, the suspected lover is admitted at hospital after he was assaulted by Nyasha for dating his wife,” a neighbour said.

Residents also said they saw Mhungu beating Muzhingi on Tuesday evening and questioning her about the alleged affair. The couple’s attempt to seek help earlier in the day did not prevent the argument from worsening.

Police collected several items from the bedroom as they secured the scene, including an axe, a shambok, Muzhingi’s mobile phone and a blood-stained stool. The items were taken away as the bodies were removed for post-mortem examinations. Investigators are working to establish the sequence of events during the hours before the couple were found dead.

Muzhingi’s brother, Nebert, said the family had not expected the deaths. He had seen the couple on Monday and said they appeared to be living peacefully, although disagreements had occurred in the past.

“On Monday, I was with them and everything was okay. Little did I know there would be another flare-up,” he said.

A six-year-old child was among the first people to enter the bedroom on Wednesday morning. After being disciplined by her grandmother for disturbing her blankets, the child ran to her parents’ room seeking refuge. She reportedly found her father vomiting before returning to her grandmother and describing what she had seen. Relatives then went to the house and found the couple dead at about 8am.

“We were informed by one of their children and I rushed there at around 8am. I found the two dead, while the child had indicated that she saw her father vomiting. We were shocked since the two have been living a peaceful life, although in marriage issues arise here and there. We have lost loving people and they were dedicated to their church duties,” Nebert said.

Mhungu was known in the neighbourhood as a bodybuilder and was also said to have worked as a bouncer for Apostle Chikaka. Muzhingi earned a living through vending. Their children are now at the centre of the e⁷fforts to settle the disagreement between the families.

The Glen View case follows another fatal domestic dispute in Harare earlier this month. Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission commissioner Martin Muduva and his wife, Lyliosa Chirara, died after an argument at their home in Dzivarasekwa Extension. Muduva later died from head injuries, while Chirara died after suspected rat-poison ingestion. The dispute was linked to claims that Muduva was involved with another woman and had taken steps towards paying lobola for her while still married to Chirara.

In July, the deaths of Zandile Khumalo Tshuma and her daughters, Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, also prompted renewed concern over violence against women and children. The family’s bodies were taken from England to Bulawayo for burial after they were found dead at their home in Britain.

The wider figures show the scale of the problem. A parliamentary research brief says 39.4 per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 had experienced physical violence since the age of 15, based on the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. The Musasa Project recorded 30,262 gender-based violence cases in 2024. The same research brief recorded 26 women killed by intimate partners in 2022, 35 in early 2023 and another 35 by the middle of 2024.

In Glen View, Apostle Chikaka and church members continued working to unite the Mhungu and Muzhingi families. The immediate task is to agree on a common burial arrangement for the couple and to ensure that their children are not left to carry the burden of the family dispute alone.

For now, the two homes remain separate mourning places for a couple whose lives were joined for nearly a decade, but whose families were still divided by an unpaid lobola, unresolved questions and the events that ended in two deaths inside a bedroom in Glen View 3.

_My Zimbabwe_