A Zimbabwean pastor from Nkulumane suburb has poisoned his two daughters before killing himself in South Africa where the family was based.
Pastor Precocious Mpofu, 36, and his daughters Shalom (11) and Panashe (7) were laid to rest at Luveve cemetery in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Mpofu allegedly forced his two daughters to drink a drainage cleaning chemical before also taking it in Yeoville suburb, Johannesburg, citing marital problems.
The deceased, who was a pastor at Prophet Blessing Chiza’s Eagle Life Assembly and his wife, Ms Chido Chipangura, had recently separated but she was still living in South Africa.
Their bodies arrived in Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Mpofu’s neighbour from South Africa who travelled to Zimbabwe for the burial described the pastor as a gentleman who was devoted to his wife and may have failed to come to terms with rejection.
“The pastor was too devoted to his wife. He loved his children and wife so much but it was embarrassing in church when rumours went around that she was having extra marital affairs. They had since separated and we heard she had moved on but he just could not accept it,” said the neighbour who declined to be named.
Chipangura family members said they were yet to come to terms with the death of the children.
“As a family we are very sad. We have lost two children and we are still in mourning. We thank the family, friends and neighbours for their support at this time,” said a family representative who spoke to The Chronicle.
The late Pastor Mpofu allegedly left a suicide note in which he stated that he was facing a lot of problems most of them in his marriage.
He also allegedly said there were some people who were stalking him and mentioned four people together with their contact details.
Pastor Mpofu however, did not give reasons why the individuals were stalking him.
The now deceased also sent a lot of messages to his family on the fateful day although he did not mention his intentions to kill his children and commit suicide.
He however, gave a hint when he directed how his property should be shared.
The family members told The Chronicle at their family home in Nkulumane suburb last Friday that from the information they received, the tragedy could have happened on Monday, October 15, between 2PM and 4PM after Pastor Mpofu had just returned from collecting his children from school. The deceased’s father, Mr Sipho Mpofu, said:
“I am reliably informed residents at his apartment saw him carrying each of the daughters on his shoulders into their flat at around 2PM. At 2:40PM he sent his sister here in Bulawayo a WhatsApp message saying one of his daughters, Shalom, had died.
Exactly 10 minutes later, he sent another message saying his second daughter had also passed on. This puzzled his sister who was trying to call him to understand what exactly he was trying to say.”
He said when she tried to text him back, messages were no longer being delivered and the sister phoned Ms Chipangura telling her to go and check on her husband as he was texting strange messages.
“Ms Chipangura dashed to the flat only to find three bodies. The kids’ bodies were neatly laid in bed between blankets while Precocious’ body was on the floor,” he said.