A man believed to be a serial arsonist embarked on a burning mission, wreaked havoc and left a trail of destruction in his wake to properties of people he suspected of witchcraft.

The incidents, which left the sleepy rural community wondering and in a state of shock, happened at Vhurivhuri-Matovha and Vhurivhuri-Ngwenani and left two families destitute, with one family’s huts completely gutted and all their worldly possessions going up in smoke.

Granny Namadzavho Malusele (73) of Vhurivhuri- Matovha said she and her granddaughter were eating at the lapa on Wednesday, around 18:00. "We saw fire on the other side of the village and wondered what could have happened," she said. She added that a man then came from the direction where the fire was burning and the young man, whom she knows, said he was the one responsible for the fire and that he was going to burn more property. He added that he had a list of people he suspected of being witches in the village.

"Before we could understand what was happening, he came directly to our house and he tried to set our hut on fire, but he ran out of matches," she said.

Malusele said she realized the seriousness of the matter and ran to the police and reported the matter. "The police went to my house and found that he had broken our window, gone in and destroyed a bed before he left," she said. Malusele said after the police had left, the man came back. "He burnt some stacks of thatch grass we had cut and after threatening us with a knife, set the other hut on fire," she said.

The sad granny said she fled the scene and stood nearby, watching helplessly as her hut with all its contents burned down. She said the police arrived immediately, but the culprit had already left. "We have lost everything in the fire. We could not come near the house as the man stood threateningly next to the burning hut," she said.

Malusele said she was very surprised as the man used to come to their family and was a friend of the family. "People do change. I never thought that this man could one day do this to us. We treated him like a son in this family and this is the way he repays us," said the sad gogo.

The gogo’s granddaughter, Ridovhona, said the man surprised them from behind and threatened them with a knife. "After seeing the long knife, we ran for our lives and watched from a distance as he torched our main hut and destroyed its content," she said.

"This man is evil. How can he do this to us? He almost destroyed my dreams as most of my belongings were in the hut. I wish he spends the rest of his life in jail," she said.

Tshavhungwe Nengwenani (about 55) of Vhurivhuri- Ngwenani was not so lucky as both rondavels were gutted. Nengwenani was left with only the clothing she was wearing. Nengwenani said she had gone to the shops at about 14:00 on Wednesday last week at another village and only her ageing mother was left at home. "I was shocked when a member of our family came running and informed me that my huts were on fire," she said.

She said she became confused and did not know what to do but gained enough courage and ran home. "On arrival, I could see from a distance that all my huts were completely gutted. I fainted and had to be taken to my brother’s house," she said. "I regard this man as my son-in- law and this really leaves me with a lot of questions. What wrong have I done to him? If there is anything wrong that I have done, why did he not tell me? I do not know what to do, now that all my belongings and everything I saved all along has gone up in smoke. I have nothing left; what you see here is all I have," said Nengwenani sadly. Nengwenani is unemployed and has no means to rebuild her huts.

Insp Mashudu Madida of the Makuya police confirmed the incidents and said a suspect had been arrested and had already appeared in court on Tuesday. The suspect, Ndiimafhi Nephawe (31) of Vhurivhuri-Ngwenani, appeared at the Makuya Periodical Court and was charged with two cases of arson and one of malicious damage to property. He was remanded in custody, pending further investigations. His case was postponed to June 25.

Madida said they worked around the clock in tracing the suspect and their efforts paid off on Saturday when they arrested the suspect at Sambandou. Madida thanked the residents for taking a zero-tolerance stance on crime by providing information on the suspect. "It is only through such united efforts between us as police and the community that we can beat crime," he said.

Meanwhile, the victims who were left with nothing are appealing to all South Africans to open their hearts to them and help them in these difficult times. Nengwenani can be reached at 073 426 9584 and Malusele at 072 157 8174.