The Sibiya family are still traumatized after their comfortable house was allegedly petrol-bombed last Monday evening. This happened at Mahatlani village near Masakona.

Sikheto Phineas Sibiya (53) and his wife were having dinner when a deafening blast interrupted their meal. “We rushed outside and checked all around the yard to see if there was anything wrong,” said Sibiya. He found that everything was in good order and then they got back inside the house.

However, while they were still eating, Sibiya's wife smelled smoke and rose to investigate around the house. She was met by dark smoke billowing through the passage from the garage. “Our double garage was on fire,” a dejected Sibiya explained.

Sibiya then rushed through the flames and got inside the Ford Ranger. He drove out of the burning garage and managed to save it from the flames. “Only the mirrors of this vehicle had caught fire and were charred,” he explained. The other vehicle, an Isuzu bakkie, burnt out inside the garage.

The garage, main bedroom and passage walls were totally destroyed. The entire roofing of the garage fell in. The fire consumed all of Sibiya's and his wife's clothes and other personal articles which were inside the bedroom. “I don't have any enemies, but I believe this kind of evil deed could only be done by jealous people,” he said.

"I am still waiting for the police to do their investigations, but at this stage everyone in the community holds onto the view that my house was petrol bombed, when we consider the nature of the noise that came out of the garage." He added that the damage is estimated at about R280 000.

Sibiya is a local businessman and works for the Department of Agriculture's local offices. “Lazy people have been stealing chickens from my poultry farm – and they seem to forget that I am doing all this for the community,” said a troubled Sibiya.

The provincial police spokesperson Col Ronel Otto confirmed the incident and said that the police were investigating a case of arson. “The cause of the fire is still not known,” she said.