Sukoluhle Ndlovu
A Zvishavane man went berserk and bashed his mother-in-law whom he accused of witchcraft after he stumbled on a lizard tail in his relish.
Dickson Chatsauka (34) of Whande Village under Headman Matenda assaulted 71-year-old Sarah Hadebe alleging that she advised his wife Kudzai Hadebe to lace his relish with a love potion meant to “tame him”.
A source, Ndabenhle Sibanda, said Chatsuka had gone out with a friend to drink and he returned home late at night.
“Chatsauka returned from Matenda Growth Point and was offered supper by his wife. While enjoying the meal, he came across a lizard tail in his plate,” said Sibanda.
“He interrogated his wife over the issue and she didn’t give him a satisfactory answer. Chatsauka threatened to kill her and that is when she admitted that she had been instructed by her mother to put the lizard tail as it was a strong love potion,” he said.
Raging with anger, Chatsauka proceeded to her in-laws’ homestead and assaulted his mother-in-law using a switch that he plucked from a tree.
“Seething with anger, he went to his in-laws homestead that same night and confronted his mother-in-law over the issue. There was a heated argument and Chatsauka assaulted his mother-in-law with a switch before slapping her countless times on the face. He was restrained by neighbours who came after hearing Hadebe scream for help,” said Ndlovu.
Chatsauka appeared before Chief Masunda’s traditional court on Friday. Chief Masunda, however, said he would still meet them again on Friday as the matter was not finalised.
“I summoned Chatsauka after receiving a report that he assaulted his mother-in-law. However, after hearing his side of the story l summoned his mother-in-law together with Chatsauka’s wife and l am yet to hear their side of the story,” said Masunda.
