Two funerals, two burials for Glen View couple as bouncer’s family bans his coffin from home
HARARE – Nyasha Mhungu’s coffin was stopped outside the family home, at the gate, and taken straight to Granville Cemetery, while his wife Olga Muzhingi was carried into her family house before being buried at Zororo Cemetery.
The separate funeral rites followed the deaths of the Glen View 3 couple, whose bodies were found in their bedroom on Wednesday morning. Police are investigating what happened inside the house, while post-mortem examinations are expected to establish how the two died.
Mhungu, 35, was buried at Granville Cemetery, popularly known as Kumbudzi, on Saturday morning. Muzhingi, 30, was buried at Zororo Cemetery in the afternoon. The burial times were arranged separately so relatives, friends and church members could attend both ceremonies.
But even in death, the couple’s families remained divided. The Mhungu family refused to take Nyasha’s coffin into their home before the burial. Family members said they believed he had taken his own life after allegedly drinking poison, and that the body of a person who dies in that manner should not be brought into the family house.
His coffin was taken from the funeral parlour to the family gate and then moved on to the cemetery. Olga’s relatives, the Muzhingi family, allowed her body into their home overnight, following the customary mourning arrangements before her burial.
The different rites reflected the families’ beliefs about what had happened, as well as tensions that had existed between them before the tragedy It appears as if both families do believe that Nyasha first killed his wife of nine years before taking his own life. A disagreement over lobola was also still unresolved. Relatives said Nyasha had lived with Olga for about nine years but had not completed the traditional bride price expected by her family.
The couple’s church, Baptism of Fire International Ministries, tried to keep the two families together as funeral arrangements were made. Apostle Hardlow Chikaka, who was also said to have employed Nyasha as his personal bouncer, held discussions with relatives and church members during the mourning period.
One mourner said the separate funeral arrangements showed that the families were acting on their own understanding of the tragedy while waiting for investigators to provide answers.
“As residents of Glen View, we are still shocked and eager to know what exactly transpired. From the way both families conducted the burial rites, it showed that they have their own assumptions about what happened. We are yet to know details about the cleansing of the rented house where the two bodies were found.”
The deaths came after a reported confrontation over messages found on Olga’s mobile phone. Neighbours said Nyasha, who was known for his bodybuilding, became angry after discovering messages that he believed were from another man.
A neighbour said Nyasha confronted the suspected lover and assaulted him so severely that the man was admitted to hospital. Nyasha then turned his anger towards Olga, the neighbour said.
“As we speak, the suspected lover is admitted at hospital after he was assaulted by Nyasha for dating his wife,” the neighbour said.
“Nyasha and Olga had been to the police several times before their church leader decided to handle the issues. Nyasha spent much of Tuesday with Apostle Chikaka for counselling. In the evening, Nyasha was spotted beating Olga, questioning her about the alleged lover, but we did not think it would end this way.”
The couple had reportedly sought help from their church leader on Tuesday, a day before their bodies were discovered. The counselling did not prevent the dispute from escalating later that evening.
Police secured the bedroom and removed several items as part of the investigation. These included an axe, a shambok, Olga’s mobile phone and a blood-stained stool. The bodies were taken for post-mortem examinations as detectives worked to piece together the final hours of the couple’s lives.
The discovery was made after one of the children went to the bedroom on Wednesday morning. The six-year-old had reportedly been disciplined by her grandmother for disturbing blankets and ran to her parents’ room. She returned saying she had seen her father vomiting.
Relatives rushed to the house at about 8am and found both adults dead. Nebert Muzhingi, Olga’s brother, said he had seen the couple on Monday and had not expected anything unusual.
“On Monday, I was with them and everything was okay. Little did I know there would be another flare-up. 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.
Nyasha was a familiar figure in local circles, where he was known as a bodybuilder and a bouncer. Olga earned a living through vending. The couple left behind children, who became a central concern as their relatives negotiated the funeral arrangements.
Church members appealed to both families to put the children first. Relatives later reached an understanding on some of the traditional payments connected to the dispute, including mhere and makandinzwa nani. The discussions were aimed at reducing tension and ensuring the children could attend the burials of both parents.
In traditional Shona culture, death by suicide (kuzviuraya) is viewed as an unnatural, deeply tragic, and disruptive event that brings severe social stigma and spiritual taboos. Traditional customs treat suicide not just as a loss of life, but as a dangerous spiritual break. The core beliefs and rules surrounding the handling and burial of a person who died by suicide include the following:
The Body is Never Brought Home
The body is strictly forbidden from being brought back into the family compound, homestead, or living quarters (musha) after going to a mortuary or funeral parlour. Traditional belief holds that an unnatural death leaves behind a restless or malevolent metaphysical residue—an unwanted energy or “spirit of suicide.” Bringing the body into a home or village hut is believed to provide that energy a resting place or shelter, making it easy for the affliction to latch onto hyper-emotional surviving relatives or migrate to another member of the household. Instead of lying in state at home for a night of traditional mourning, singing, and rituals, the coffin goes straight from the mortuary or collection point to the burial site.
Accelerated and Undignified Burial
Burial typically happens on the very day the body is released or the death is discovered, bypassing the multi-day mourning wakes standard in normal deaths. If a person hanged themselves from a tree, the specific tree is not left alone. Traditional protocols require completely destroying the tree—its trunk, branches, and leaves. The tree is chopped down flush to the ground, cut into small fragments, piled on the exact spot where it stood, and burned entirely to ashes. These ashes are then swept up, placed in a sack, and emptied into a flowing river. This entire process is traditionally supervised or guided by a local community leader or village head (sabhuku or chief) to completely erase the physical anchor of the tragedy.
Those who handle the burial or come into close contact with the situation are required to undergo ritual cleansing immediately after the burial. Participants wash their hands and faces using water mixed with crushed medicinal or protective leaves (such as specific local herbs like ntata badzimu in some regional traditions). The sharp scent or spiritual property of the herb is believed to drive away the dark, destructive psychological demons or spiritual residue associated with the suicide.
Unlike normal circumstances where a deceased person’s clothes might be systematically distributed or inherited by close kin after specific ceremonies, a person who died by suicide is buried with their belongings or clothes on them. Distributing their personal items among family members is strictly avoided, as it is believed the “spirit” or impulse of self-harm could be passed down through the garments.