Elmon Tshikhudo
With her savings, gogo Mukhatshelwa Mavhanga bought a small site of land and built a modest two-roomed shack where she lived for many years.
But her home has been taken away from her by her own son.
The 90-year-old gogo from Tshilungoma, Thohoyandou said she went to see a doctor in a nearby town last week and came back to find the front gate locked.
“I couldn’t see anyone in the yard,” she said.
She said that she reported the matter to the local civic organisation.
“But the worst was yet to come,” said the gogo.
“My house was flattened by people hired by the widow of my late son and my son, Fhatuwani.”
She said her belongings were strewn outside the yard.
“I’ve lost everything and also my grant money that I left in the house. The worst part is the daughter-in-law divorced my son even before I moved here,” the gogo said.
Gogo Mukhatshelwa was forced to sleep outside the gate for several days until community members arranged temporary accommodation for her while her problem was being addressed.
The gogo’s last born, Rudzani, said it hurt her to see her mother being treated that way.
“My brother Fhatuwani once struck our mother with a stone and injured her leg. We are not surprised to see what he is doing now,” she said.
Fhatuwani, who is the gogo’s eldest son, maintains that he is the rightful owner of the house and that he is giving it to the daughter-in-law for the sake of his late brother’s child. He also denied hitting his mom with a stone.
The matter has been reported to the local traditional leader Chief Mmbangiseni Thukhutha.
