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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A 36-YEAR-OLD man from Victoria Falls died after allegedly downing a bottle of poison as his mother watched.

Father of four, Nkululeko Mathe allegedly drank Bols brandy popularly known as Tocky, mixed with rogor pesticide.

He gulped down the remaining pesticide as his mother, Ketty Mathe, 53, watched in horror.

Nkululeko died on Monday evening at Victoria Falls Hospital after consuming the poison on Saturday night, his family confirmed.

Neighbours told The Chronicle that Nkululeko, a curio vendor in the resort town who still lived with his mother, told friends that he wanted to die because his mother was mean to him.

Ketty said her son drank the poison as he spoke with her.

She said her son drank the spirit mixed with rogor after a beer binge.

“He went out to drink with friends on Friday and on Saturday he spent the day drinking again. I gave him food when he came back in the evening but he said he would eat the next morning as he went back to the bar,” said Ketty.

She said at the bar at Chinotimba Bus Terminus, Mathe bought three bottles of Bols and bid farewell to his friends.

“He told his friends that they were seeing him for the last time and none of them suspected any bad intentions.

“He came home at 11PM and found me sitting outside. He asked for his bathing towel. He consumed some of the poison while inside the house,” said Ketty

“He said to me ‘mum I’m going’ and to me it made no sense. I thought it was the beer talking. When he said it for the third time, I noticed he had a bottle of rogor as he emptied it to his mouth. That’s when I jumped and grabbed the bottle but it was too late,” she said.

She said she rushed to alert some neighbours who struggled to hold Nkululeko as he became violent.

The elderly woman said they phoned the police who rushed him to the hospital where he was admitted.

She said it was untrue that she ill treated Nkululeko.

“How could I be mean to him? I’m the one who was fending for him because at his workplace they are always having running battles with the police and he was not making money,” she said.

The old woman said she would sell firewood to take care of Nkululeko and his two siblings.

“At some point he was seriously ill and everybody thought he would die.

“His wife had abandoned him and I took him in until he got better. Why didn’t I kill him then if I wanted to?” she asked.

Nkululeko lived with his mother while his four children and their mother stayed on their own on the other side of the suburb.

His uncle James Mathe Matshitshi said the family was saddened by the loss.

Burial is today.

Police could not be reached for comment.