LWAMONDO – The community of Lwamondo-Mutandani near Thohoyandou is shocked and confused after it became known that the Phidza family is being haunted by an evil spirit and they have not had a night’s peaceful sleep since last week.

It all started on Wednesday last week when a flower pot mysteriously flew from the sitting room table and found its way through the inside kitchen door to smash the kitchen window pane. While they were still recovering from the shock, a piece of timber block jumped from the floor and smashed another windowpane of the window in another room.

Since then, the window panes have been smashed by invisible objects and the family now fear the spell might continue to make their lives difficult. At the time of going to press, seven windows had already been damaged and all the family’s flowerpots have been smashed. When Mirror arrived at the family home on Saturday, close family members were offering their moral support, but their spirits were down, as everyone seemed to be depressed by what is taking place.

Ms Onika Phidza (78) a pensioner and owner of the yard, who has been staying there since 1965, said the paranormal events have turned her life into a living hell as she can no longer enjoy life like other community members. She explained: “I only heard these things happening in other areas but I never thought I would one day become a victim of these evil deeds. I cannot explain what exactly is causing these things but I believe these are the works of the devil. I have been staying here for a long time but this is giving me a headache and I am now confused,” said Ms Phidza, a widow who has two grown children.

Asked if she considers moving out of the house, she quickly declined: “I am going nowhere. I would rather die inside this house.” She explained that the first incident happened when she had finished taking a bath on Wednesday at about 12:30. “I could not believe my eyes when a flower pot jumped from my sitting room to smash a window pane of the kitchen. Since then, other flowerpots and invisible objects keep on smashing my windows and the damage keeps on increasing on a daily basis. On Friday, another flowerpot jumped from the table and landed on the floor, and I put it back. Shortly after that, it jumped straight to my sitting room window pane, smashing it instantly…”

To make matters worse, her grandson, Nthuleni (14) is not sleeping well, as he wakes up in the middle of the night while screaming wildly on top of his voice. “At times he will go limp while screaming, but when we ask him what he sees, he seems like someone who is confused and he will never explain what happens to him when he is possessed. He will then go back to sleep for a while and thereafter he will be screaming again. I believe he might be seeing something that we are failing to notice with our naked eyes. He needs urgent assistance, as this is obviously going to affect him at school. Since it started he is always timid and withdrawn.”

A close family relative, Lizzie Phidza (53), who has been supporting the family since the events started, urges community members to assist the family to relieve them from their senseless daily torture.

“We don’t know when the whole thing will stop because it continues on a daily basis. We heard there was a meeting of the community structures who were discussing the issue but we are waiting to hear their report. The young boy and the old lady also need counselling as they are going through a tough and difficult situation since this evil spell started. We appeal to anyone who can assist the family to come forward before the whole house is destroyed. The old lady also needs financial assistance to repair the damage in the house, as her eldest son is not working.”

Community members who would like to assist the family can call 082 446 5561 or 083 310 7651.

It is not the first time that incredible acts of this nature take place in the Vhembe area. Several acts took place over the past few years. In the same village of Lwamondo, an old lady was shocked to find that the beef she had bought from a local pension pay point was glittering. At Makongoza and Shayandima, a fire from nowhere damaged property worth thousands of rands whereas a princess in the Kutama area developed tiny stones in her private parts. At Halambani, stones from nowhere where thrown into a house for several days and at Mutoti village, a woman got the shock of her life when the porridge she was cooking mysteriously changed from white to yellow.