A Mamelodi boy has died in a mysterious fire, leaving his family devastated,
“My son died a painful death.”
These sad words came from the father of five-year-old Calvin Shaku who was killed when the family shack caught fire in Lusaka informal settlement last Thursday night.
Seoko Malesa (42) he said he was convinced his son died from a mysterious fire, known as Vutha.
“Our shack mysteriously caught fire while my son was sleeping in the bedroom,” he said.
He suspected he was bewitched.
“I believe this is all because of jealousy and the fact that my wife is busy training to become a sangoma,”said Malesa.
Recalling the day of the fire, he said his son was behaving strangely and was moody.
“Around 19:30, he decided to rest on the bed after playing with his friends in the street,” his father said.
“Before he went to sleep, I asked him to come with his sisters and me to a nearby spaza shop to buy food. He refused and said he just wanted to sleep.”
On their way back from the shop, the family saw their shack was on fire, said Malesa.
“Neighbours tried to put out the fire but there was no way to save little Calvin who was trapped inside the bedroom of our shack.”
Traditional healers where the mother was training to be a sangoma told him that someone had bewitched his family because of jealousy.
This person was trying to teach them a lesson that they would not forget just because his family acted like they were rich, said Malesa.
He described his son as a loving person who would harm no one. He was friendly and loved people.
Calvin was a Grade 1 pupil at Mpendulo Primary School in the far east of Mamelodi. He will be buried in Limpopo on Saturday.
His family was staying with neighbours after losing everything.
Mamelodi East police spokesperson Warrant Officer Michael Mbewe said an arson docket was opened and police were investigating.
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