SEKE – A family in Dema, Seke, is grappling with unimaginable tragedy after a 21-year-old man, Tashinga Chirunga, reportedly died after being strangled by the avenging spirit (Ngozi) of his late brother, Tapiwa, in the very same bar where Tapiwa was murdered seven years ago. The circumstances surrounding Tashinga’s death have left the community in shock and the family seeking answers from both traditional and spiritual healers.
The deceased, Tashinga Chirunga, met his untimely end on June 24th and was laid to rest on June 27th in Seke, close to his brother Tapiwa’s final resting place. He resided with his father, Mr Onwell Mubaiwa Chirunga (54), following the passing of his mother some years ago. He also lived with his two maternal aunts, Nyarai Chikomo (45) and Netsai Chikomo (43), in Chinamano village in Dema.
Tapiwa Chirunga, Tashinga’s elder brother, was murdered in the same bar in Dema seven years prior, at the age of 25. The Inner City Night Club in Dema has now become a place of mourning and fear for the Chirunga family.
According to accounts, Tashinga went to the bar and began acting erratically, as if possessed by his brother’s spirit. Witnesses claim he displayed superhuman strength, lifting the heavy snooker table on his own, smashing windows, and vehemently refusing to answer to his own name, insisting on being addressed as Tapiwa.
Mr Onwell Mubaiwa Chirunga, Tashinga’s grieving father, shared the family’s anguish. “I had three sons, so now I have lost two, namely Tapiwa, who died at the age of 25 in 2018, and then Tashinga (21), who died on June 24 this year and we buried him on June 27. This means I am left with only one son, Tawanda, who is 27 years old, whose mother has passed away, but I live with him and his wife at home,” he lamented.
“The way my children are dying, I see it as the avenging spirit of Tapiwa, who died after being murdered, because the perpetrators were just granted bail in 2018. We never heard the end of the case, so they are out there, and I heard that they are also consulting traditional healers after being tormented by Tapiwa’s spirit. So, I believe they are the ones stirring up this spirit towards us, who were wronged,” Mr Chirunga explained.
Adding to the family’s distress, Mr Chirunga revealed that one of the individuals implicated in Tapiwa’s murder is related to his ancestors. He also said that Tashinga was often possessed by the spirit of his deceased brother, so much so that he often wanted to spend the whole day in the bar where he died, and that is where he eventually died, which gives them the idea that the avenging spirit is causing trouble.
“He would smash the windows of that bar, lift the snooker table, speak in the voice of the deceased, and attack anyone who called him by his name, Tashinga. He wanted to be called by his brother’s name, Tapiwa, so we had the idea that it was the tradition of being possessed by the spirit of the deceased. When he died, he was actually strangled by the spirit of the deceased,” he says.
The family’s attempts to appease the spirit through traditional rituals were fraught with challenges.
“We travelled a lot, but we failed to get the money and things that were needed, and he would tell us that we were delaying in fixing things, and no two weeks would pass before he died if we delayed in fixing these things. Indeed, my son died two weeks after he said those words, and he left a note which he wrote: ‘Two Weeks Time – You are Delaying, Father’ which he wrote with a green crayon,” Mr Chirunga recounted.
He said that everywhere they went, they were told to buy a sheep and cloths, and they were charged money, which made it difficult for them to fulfil the required rituals on time.
Now, Mr Chirunga is haunted by the thought that they may have inadvertently invited the avenging spirit into their home by failing to adhere to traditional customs following Tapiwa’s death.
“When Tapiwa died, we mourned him in the house before taking his body to the cemetery, perhaps that is where we messed up the tradition, which is now causing the spirit of death to wander around the house. I am now afraid of being finished off by this avenging spirit. When Tashinga died, we mourned him at the Dema council offices and then went to the cemetery. We did not bring him into the house, and we did not share his clothes, we buried him with them and destroyed the ones that were left,” he said, highlighting their adherence to tradition in Tashinga’s burial.
Tashinga’s maternal aunts corroborated the events leading up to his death. Netsai Chikomo (43) recounted, “On the day Tashinga died, he went to the bar where his brother died and stayed there. Many dogs reportedly barked at him strangely while he cried like a cat and refused to be called by his name, wanting to be called by his deceased brother’s name. He died looking like he was being strangled, gasping for air and with a swollen stomach.
“When we were called to the bar saying he had started acting strangely, we found him lifting the snooker table and smashing windows. When we saw that his spirit was about to leave, we took him to Chitungwiza Central Hospital, where we were told that he had already died.”
Nyarai Chikomo (45) expressed her deep sorrow over the tragic loss of her nephews, which has left the family with a multitude of unanswered questions. She also mentioned that relatives of one of the accused in Tapiwa’s murder had approached them, seeking guidance on how to appease the avenging spirit.
Mr Ronny Murehwa, whose child is accused of murdering Tapiwa, acknowledged his child’s involvement in the crime.
“We admit the crime committed by our child and his two colleagues at the bar where they were fighting, so we also want to be helped with advice on how we can meet with this family so that we can compensate each other because what we value is living well together. Yes, the case once went to the courts, but they were granted bail and are out there because we do not know what happened there until today,” he said, expressing a desire for reconciliation and compensation.
Traditional healer and member of the Zimbabwe National Practitioners Association (ZINPA), Mbuya Simbisai Magora, emphasised the importance of adhering to traditional customs when dealing with deaths caused by murder or suicide.
“A person who commits suicide or is murdered is taken from the mortuary, and people go with the body to the cemetery, where prayers or traditional rituals are performed there to plead that this spirit should not return to the house but should haunt those who murdered them. That house also needs to be cleansed because it remains unclean.
“The clothes of the deceased are dug into a hole and buried at the same time as the owner is being buried at the cemetery. They are not shared, even if they are good, and they are not allowed to be taken to markets to be sold because they will be carrying bad luck and the spirit of death,” she explained.
As the Chirunga family navigates this devastating loss, they are seeking guidance from traditional healers and prophets, hoping to find a way to appease the avenging spirit and prevent further tragedy from befalling their family.
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