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Leonard Ncube in Binga

A MAN who went berserk and fatally axed his brother-in-law’s aunt and son and three neighbours has appeared in court charged with five counts of murder.

Christopher Gotore (20) originally from Chimombe Village under Chief Jiri in Gokwe was not asked to plead when he appeared before Binga magistrate Mrs Portia Mhlanga-Moyo.

Gotore told the court that he killed the victims because he was haunted by a recurring dream where he always saw the victims in a vision visiting him with pigs and threatening to kill him. He said one of the victims Admire Nyangarai and his brother-in-law Mr Bruce Sibanda’s aunt Chiravigwa Sibanda threatened to kill him in his sleep.

The magistrate ordered that Gotore be examined by two psychiatrists and he will next appear on March 24.

Gotore is a Grade Seven school dropout who was raised by a single mother after his father died before his birth. 

Prosecuting, Mr Quiet Dube said Gotore allegedly armed himself with an axe and killed Sibanda (64), his sister’s son Shane (7), Nyangarai whose age was not given, his wife Bibeat Munsaka (23) and their one-year-old baby Loice Compassion Nyangarai.

The incident happened in Marangana – Kaziyo village under Chief Sinamagonde, where the accused had since 2017 been staying at his brother-in-law, Mr Sibanda’s homestead after running away from his family in Gokwe. 

Mr Sibanda and Nyangarai were neighbours and their homesteads were about 300m apart separated by a field and bush.  “On 6 March at 8PM the accused proceeded to Admire Nyangarai’s homestead armed with an axe. On arrival he found Nyangarai outside standing next to the door of his bedroom hut and struck him with an axe three times on the neck. Nyangarai fell down and died,” said the prosecutor.

He said thereafter Gotore set the thatched roof of Nyangarai’s bedroom hut ablaze using a burning log from a kitchen hut at the homestead and the deceased’s body was seriously burnt on the legs as a result.

Gotore then allegedly proceeded to Sibanda’s homestead and went straight to a bedroom hut which he shared with his two nephews Shane and Tawanda Sibanda. While inside Gotore allegedly axed Shane twice leaving him dead but did not do anything to his younger brother Tawanda aged three years.

“At the same homestead Gotore proceeded to a shed where Mr Sibanda, his wife Patience Gotore and aunt were sitting. He struck [Chiravigwa] Sibanda once on the neck with an axe and she died on the spot, “ said Mr Mpofu.

Mr Sibanda and his wife tried to disarm Gotore but he overpowered them causing the couple to flee from the scene in different directions. Gotore attempted to chase after them and when he could not catch them, he entered a cattle pen on the edge of the yard and butchered a cow and its calf, each representing his sister and her husband. He allegedly heard Nyangarai’s wife Munsaka who arrived at the homestead screaming for help and chased after her.

Munsaka tried to run away through a maize field with the baby on her back but she tripped and fell. Gotore allegedly struck the baby twice on the head and once on the shoulder while it was still strapped on its mother’s back. 

He also allegedly struck Munsaka several times on the head and back causing instant death.

Gotore was arrested on Saturday night when he returned to the homestead in a disoriented state and asked for fire to roast mealies. He allegedly charged at two armed police officers at the funeral wake before the officers shot him on the leg to subdue him. 

The five bodies were taken to Bulawayo for post-mortem.

Some of them were buried yesterday. — @ncubeleon