A bitter war could be brewing between the family of a man who is alleged to have burnt to death and the family of a woman who stayed with him as his live-in lover. David Dzebu (35) of Vhudimbilu outside Thohoyandou died under mysterious circumstances in a mud hut in the early hours of Sunday at Hamukomaasinanndu, after the hut he was sleeping in allegedly caught fire.

The Dzebu and the Sigobo families are at each other´s throats, with the dead man´s family pointing an accusing finger to all involved in the events leading to the body’s being taken from the scene without their being informed.

The dead man´s father, Mr Piet Dzebu, said the incident has left them with many unanswered questions as no official notification had come from the woman with whom he was staying or her family. "We suspect that this is a cover-up; these people must have killed him somewhere and the fire was just a cover-up in order to destroy evidence," he said.

Dzebu said they were shocked to learn their beloved son had died in a bonfire but were not afforded the chance to see his body before it was taken to a mortuary. "So far, we are not convinced that the bits and the ashes they took to the mortuary is the body of our son. Who knows, they might have put a dog in the hut before burning the hut. We are not impressed by their actions at all. They were supposed to have called us before doing anything to our son´s body as we do not stay far from where the incident happened," he said.

Dzebu said they were supposed to have examined the scene before it was disturbed, for them to ascertain whether it was his body. "These people are so inhumane. As Africans, we have certain rituals that are performed at scenes of death and accidents, but in our case we do not even know where our son died," he said.

A heartbroken Mmboniseni, the dead man´s sister, said it was hard to accept that her brother had died in the mud hut. "I do not believe it. They should have called us to have a look at the ashes and the bones in order to identify him. They murdered my brother and they want to make it look like it is an accident. I won’t believe them, until they come with an answer to this riddle." Mmboniseni said she was sad that her brother died at a time when he was in the process of finishing his house. "Look, his house is almost complete, but he won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of his labour, because of these bloodthirsty thugs," she said. She said she was just praying that the police do their homework and bring the culprit to book. "Whoever did it does not deserve to be out here but in jail; let them hunt him and lock him up for good," she said.

Mr Nndwakhulu Matodzi, the local civic secretary, said they were deeply shocked by the incident. "We do not know exactly what happened and all we have here are rumours doing the rounds," he said. He said after learning of the incident, they contacted the two families in order to find out what had actually happened. "The families have not met so far, but we have brokered a meeting with the local traditional leader and the two families. We hope by the end of today (Wednesday) we will have charted a way forward," he said.

Dzebu stayed with his wife and five children in the one-roomed mud hut. His wife, Jane Sigobo, had been admitted to a hospital after suffering a broken leg the previous day and he was left to take care of the children. It is alleged that he went on a drinking spree on the day of the incident, moving from one drinking hole to the next until the late hours, when he was spotted staggering home.

Pauline Sigobo, the sister-in-law to the deceased, said she last saw the deceased the previous day. According to her, he was heading to his home village at Vhudimbilu. "I took all my sister’s children to my house as I thought they would be left alone because he was going home," she said. Sigobo said she remembered that her sister had left some clothing in water that needed to be rinsed before being dried. "I woke up at about 05:00 that morning with the intention of drying the washing," she said. Sigobo, who stays next to the deceased’s hut, said she was shocked to see smoke billowing from the hut. "We do not even know what had happened as no one saw the hut burning."

Limpopo police spokesperson in Vhembe Capt Mashudu Malelo confirmed the incident. Malelo said an inquest docket has been opened. "Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire started from the inside, but we will continue with our investigations," he said. He cautioned community members to desist from spreading rumours and to give the police a chance to do their work.