Khethani family escapes petrol-bombed attack
Nothing was left of Khethani and his wife's clothes and other personal belongings that were in their bedroom.
LIMPOPO – The Khethani family from Madimbo village in the Niani area was left traumatised after their eight-room house was reportedly petrol-bombed last Saturday.
Benny Khethani said he and his wife were sleeping when they were woken up by a loud sound, followed by the smell of smoke. “Our kitchen and sitting room were on fire. We rushed outside and checked all around the yard to see if there was anything wrong and we found a bottle with petrol outside. Dark smoke came billowing from the passage to the garage.”
He said they found three sets of footprints which led them into the bushes, where they found a man and asked him if he knew anything about the incident, “which he denied”.
Khethani rushed back into the house through the flames to rescue his four-month-old baby, who was still inside.
The main bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and passage walls were destroyed. The roof of the garage caved in but his vehicle could be salvaged as only the windows had been charred from the flames.
Nothing was left of Khethani and his wife’s clothes and other personal belongings that were in their bedroom. The estimated damage amounts to around R400 000, he told CV.
Khethani is a local builder and businessman.
“I don’t have any enemies that I know of, but this kind of evil could only have been committed by jealous people. Lazy people are jealous of me because I prosper. They seem to forget that I am doing all this for the community. At this point, we are waiting for the police to do their investigation,” he said.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba confirmed the incident and said the police were investigating a case of arson. “The cause of the fire is not known yet.”
