Death every March

A Valley family has split into two rival camps owing to deaths occurring in the month of March annually for the past 14 years.

Family members now dread March as they know someone among them will die and have since approached Chief Mutasa for assistance.

The Kanjanda family members are accusing and counter-accusing their father figures of sorcery.

A camp aligned to Abisha Kanjanda accuses James Kanjanda and his cabal of being behind the deaths in the family since March 2010. They accuse the same camp of selectively attending and absconding funerals in the family.

In a counter-claim, James Kanjanda and his team are pointing accusing fingers on Abisha.

The family wants Chief Mutasa to intervene and provide a lasting solution, which has so far proved elusive.

In his presentation before Chief Mutasa’s court recently, Abisha Kanjanda said the family believes its patriarch, James Kanjanda is behind the deaths in the family.

Abisha said the major reason they suspected James and his clique for being behind the deaths in the family was their truancy from the funerals.

This, Abisha said, was despite James being the family’s father figure.

“The last time we experienced death in the family was on March 14, 2024 when our sister died around 8am. James and those backing him did not attend the funeral despite them being a stone’s throw away and hearing people mourning. Her homestead is only 100 metres away from his, but he did not show up for the funeral. An emissary was sent to officially inform him of the death as the family’s father figure, but he did not pitch up.

“I ended up approaching him at his homestead to inform him around 11am, and I was shocked to find him asleep. I asked him if he had not received news of the funeral. He confirmed having been informed. He advised me that he would attend the funeral later, but never set foot there.

“He was supposed to show us where to dig the grave (rukaro) as the father, but he refused to do that.

“This is how he has been acting all along. He selectively attends funerals in the family,” he said.

Abisha alleged that James’ actions forced them to suspect that he had a hand in the unexplained family deaths.

He said they consulted traditional healers who advised them that James

acquired wealth enhancing charms now wreaking havoc in the family.

“We were advised by traditional healers that James’ father had wealth enhancing charms which he (James) inherited upon his death. These charms are wreaking havoc and killing people in the family. People are dying like flies in the family.

“We recovered calabashes, a big knife, traditional cloth (jira reretso) and knobkerrie from the river which allegedly belonged to James. A traditional healer helped us to recover this paraphernalia,” he said.

When asked why he did not attend his sister’s funeral, James said there is bad blood between them and Abisha’s family.

James hit back and accused Abisha of inheriting the wealth enhancing charms together with his late father’s young wives.

“Abisha was my father’s favourite nephew. My father loved him more than us his biological children. The whole family knows that my father had wealth enhancing charms which were inherited by Abisha when my father died.

“This is because my father loved him so much to the extent of giving him all his young wives before his demise.

“Abisha inherited everything from my father despite the fact that I was his biological son. Why then would my father give me the wealth enhancing charms when he had given his other prized possessions to his favourite nephew, Abisha?” charged James.

James’ sister, Elizabeth Kanjanda concurred, saying it was an open secret that Abisha inherited the wealth enhancing charms which he should surrender.

Chief Mutasa adjourned the Kanjanda family matter to May 11 for further consultations.

The family claimed to have earlier consulted two spiritualists whose findings contrasted sharply, leaving them divided and frothing at each other.

One of the spiritual healers allegedly pointed an accusing finger at Abisha, while the other singled out James for being behind the mysterious deaths in the family.