Elmon Tshikhudo
Nobody close to them noticed anything wrong with livestock herder Themba Moyo and his wife Ndivhudza Khobo, any sign that their marriage was under strain.
But deep down Themba had something that was driving him to the edge.
On Saturday, Ndivhudza’s phone went dead and she and her nine-month-old son Nkosinathi disappeared from their home in Davhana in the Vuwani area in Limpopo.
No member of the family was spotted until the next day when witnesses said that they saw Themba carrying a pick and spade towards a nearby graveyard.
Later that day, he was found dead in his one-roomed house in the village, hanging by the neck from the ceiling.
Villagers feared the worst for the mother and her baby son and immediately called for a search. Their fears were confirmed when the bodies were discovered buried in a shallow grave at the cemetery.
Ndivhudza had suffered severe trauma wounds on her head, and her hands, bound with wires, had suffered deep cuts.
Nkosinathi meanwhile suffered blunt trauma to his head.
Themba’s employer Winnie Muthambi said she had only recently hired him to be a caretaker at her farm.
“He said he wanted a job as he was laid off from his previous employment. I offered him the job that included free accommodation so that he could look after my livestock,” she said.
“He stayed with his wife and did not show any signs that he was having problems. I still can’t believe that three lives have been lost on my property.”
Thomas Rambuwani said he was with Themba on Friday building a room in the farm.
“We worked the whole day and he was in good spirits. When it was time to knock off he took a pick and a spade and he left towards the graveyard. I now believe that he had planned this all along,” he said.
Livhuwabi’s elder sister Ndivhu Khobo said the incident has left the family cold.
“I did not think that he was capable of this. I could not even look at the body that was severely mutilated. My parents are in a state of denial and bearing in mind that they are pensioners it might also affect their health,” she said.
Ndivhu said it was more painful as the woman has left five children who have no parents.
