KHUBVI – A well-known academic, author, community leader and farmer was lucky to survive, when an alleged conspiracy to murder him turned sour. A case of conspiracy was registered at the Thohoyandou SAPS.

Mr Mmbengwa Mbulaheni of Khubvi, north of Thohoyandou, said he would have been buried already if the grace of God did not come to his rescue during the festive season. He said a reliable source later informed him of the conspiracy. He told Mirror how the conspiracy was set up, according to his reliable source: “A group of six people known to me gathered at a house in Khubvi during December at night. They were not aware that somebody outside the house was listening to their deliberations while they were talking. They agreed that they would come to my house to kill me at midnight on the day in question. They also agreed that four of them would climb my mango trees while two of them would come and knock at my door. The notion was that, when I go out, those in trees would get down and I would have taken my final breath…”

Mbulaheni said there was a knock on his door in the middle of the night on the day in question. “I did not respond or go out because I knew there were people after my blood. I only heard something smashing my windows and some footsteps around my house. I prayed to God to protect me and my family and luckily, they would-be assassins went away, leaving our lives behind…”

He said he woke up to examine the damage in the morning and found several half bricks, used to smash his window panes, scattered in his dining room. “I think they resorted on damaging my property because I did not come out of the house. I then went to the Thohoyandou SAPS to report the matter…”

Asked why he thinks there was a conspiracy to kill him, Mbulaheni could not rule out jealousy as a contributing factor. “They are primitives who want to eradicate me because of my prosperity in farming, education and business. They need to work hard to be like what I am…”

Insp Nkanukeni Raedani of the Thohoyandou SAPS confirmed that a case of conspiracy was registered at Thohoyandou SAPS. He said: “One suspect was arrested for questioning and later released but the case has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for a decision…”

In the past year, the fence on Mbulaheni’s orchard was damaged eight times by unknown hooligans. His crèche building was destroyed and his mango trees were chopped down and he has lost more than R20 000 as a result of the damages.