A family in Buhera says a flower planted by their late father has become the source of years of illness, disappearances and nightly terror, with the women in the household claiming they are being sexually attacked by invisible men.
The family, from Village Head Chavahera’s area under Chief Nyashanu, says the plant was not an ordinary flower but a charm linked to kuromba, a practice associated with seeking wealth, protection or other forms of spiritual power. They say the charm eventually changed into goblins, known locally as zvikwambo, which now haunt the homestead and treat the women as their wives.
Mrs Fredah Mponde Munanzvo, 61, said her late husband, Phillimon Munanzvo, brought the flower from Gweru, where he used to work. He planted it in the family yard and told relatives that it could heal stomach pains and other illnesses.
“My husband brought this flower and planted it in the yard, saying it treated stomach pains and other illnesses. This flower had a very strong scent, and I have never seen a flower like it in my life,” said Mrs Mponde Munanzvo.
When the children fell ill, the family rubbed the plant’s leaves on their hands, heads and faces. Mrs Mponde Munanzvo said the children would recover after the treatment, and the flower remained part of the household until it withered while her husband was still alive.
Phillimon died in 2013. His widow said the family’s troubles became severe after his death. At night, they hear footsteps around the buildings and on top of the corrugated iron roofs, even when nobody can be seen outside.
“Besides hearing footsteps outside and on the roof, I and all my daughters are sexually violated by invisible men every single day. We are told these are goblins. At our home, there is a huge snake with a long beard; I once encountered it at our toilet while it was biting another large snake,” she said.
Mrs Mponde Munanzvo had nine children. One has died, leaving seven daughters and one son. She says no one in the family has escaped the problems blamed on the flower and the spirits connected to it.
Her children are said to suffer from persistent illnesses. One daughter recently suffered paralysis, while another has experienced continuous menstruation. The family’s daughters have also struggled to marry, while chickens and cattle have allegedly disappeared from the homestead without explanation.
The family also points to a large munyii, or Bird Plum tree, growing in the yard. Mrs Mponde Munanzvo said the tree was planted by her husband and remains green throughout the year, despite not being watered.
“In our yard, there is a large Bird Plum tree (munyii) that never withers; it stays green and lush all the time. It was planted by my husband. It puzzles us why it never loses its leaves throughout the year, even though it is never watered,” she said.
Prophets and traditional healers consulted by the family have repeatedly linked the tree to the spirits. Mrs Mponde Munanzvo said they were told the flower had been a charm intended to generate wealth and strengthen her husband, but later became goblins that returned to the family home.
“Wherever we go — to prophets or traditional healers — we are told that the flower brought by my husband was not a real flower, but rather a charm he sought for wealth and self-fortification which later turned into goblins that are now using us as ‘wives.’ We are also told that the munyii tree is where these goblins and ghosts (zvidhoma) reside,” she said.
The family further claims that the bearded snake seen at the homestead is the same flower after its transformation. Their kitchen hut also collapsed suddenly, with relatives saying they saw no visible cause for the collapse.
The family’s troubles have been tied to Phillimon’s former religious life as well. Mrs Mponde Munanzvo said the household once attended a popular church in Buhera, where her husband served as a prophet and helped people who came to the homestead seeking assistance. The house was often crowded with visitors.
“We all used to attend a popular church in Buhera, where my husband eventually had his Bible confiscated and burnt by the church, as they claimed it was not a real Bible. He was a prophet in that church and used to help people. Our home was always crowded with people seeking help,” she said.
Three of the family’s daughters later wandered away from home. Their mother says she does not know whether they are alive or dead.
“I have three children whose status I don’t know—whether they are alive or dead. They just left home and wandered away because of the influence of these goblins,” she said.
Mrs Mponde Munanzvo is now staying in Ushewokunze, Harare, where her eldest daughter, Sekai Munanzvo, 39, recently suffered paralysis. Sekai said she first felt numbness across her body before developing blurred vision. She went to hospital, but the illness was not diagnosed. The family then sought spiritual help and was told the condition came from the goblins at the Buhera home.
Sekai said her father appeared to know that something difficult would be left behind after his death, although he did not explain what he meant.
“Before my father died while he was ill, he asked me, ‘My child, will you be able to handle the things I am leaving you here at home, being a girl?’ I didn’t understand what he meant until he died without explaining,” Sekai said.
Evas Munanzvo, 29, the seventh child, said the family had been unable to escape the consequences of the flower. She said the leaves had been rubbed on the children’s naked bodies when they were young and that the same issue arose whenever the family visited a spiritual healer.
“We have suffered because of this flower brought by our father. We need help. The home is uninhabitable; even when it comes to men, we are always rejected,” Evas said.
A sangoma from Harare, Gogo Shumba, said the father had been given goblins disguised as a flower. She linked the family’s illnesses, failed relationships and livestock losses to the spirits and called for the munyii tree to be removed.
“This flower turned into a goblin—that is the snake seen at the home. No livestock can thrive there. The late husband is ‘rising’ again because of his charms. All the women are being used as wives by these goblins. That is why one of them has non-stop menstruation. That large tree needs to be cut down; it is the shadow/shelter for the ghosts and goblins of the deceased. This woman is cooking for things she cannot see,” Gogo Shumba said.
The Buhera account follows other families in Zimbabwe who have described similar experiences involving alleged wealth charms, invisible sexual attacks and animals falling sick or disappearing.
“I did not know that I had acquired goblins from Mutamba. I only wanted luck charms as I was looking for a job in Harare. He gave me a small bottle with some ointment with the instructions that I would apply each time I was attending a job interview,” he said.
Nyamukafata said he later discarded the bottle, along with a sword and ancestral cloths, after becoming a born-again Christian. His children and grandchildren accused the alleged goblins of sexually tormenting family members and sucking milk from their cows, leaving calves hungry. He appealed for help to find the healer who had supplied the items.
In Epworth, another family said women and girls were being attacked by invisible forces and that deaths, failed marriages, poverty and illness had followed years of family suffering. Agnes Nota said the household had once numbered 12 children but only seven remained. She said six relatives died within one year after 2019, while younger women were forced to leave the home because of the attacks.
“We were 12 but now we are seven. People die young, one after another. This trouble has affected husbands, grandchildren and has created a cycle of fear and witchcraft in the family,” Agnes said.
The Buhera family is now seeking help to deal with the flower, the tree and the spirits they believe have controlled their home since Phillimon’s death. For Mrs Mponde Munanzvo and her daughters, the plant that once appeared to bring healing has become a lasting symbol of fear, sickness and loss.
In the family’s telling, the flower did not simply die. It remained behind in another form, attached to the homestead and to the women who say they have been left to carry the burden of a secret their father never explained.