The tears of a woman, struggling to figure out how her daughter died and was then hastily buried in a plot of land owned by Madzibaba Ismail Chukurungira, appear to have shed some light on a mysterious high-profile death at the same shrine two years ago.
Memory Mukanyeri (49) was a member of Madzbaba Ishmael Church, located on a sprawling plot of land in Nyabira.
Her ex-husband, Madzibaba Gideon (53 years old), the late child’s father, is still a member of the church, which is now described as a sect.
He is one of the elders of Madzbaba Ismail.
H-Metro visited the plot on Wednesday and Madzibaba Ismail denied all the accusations against him.
Speaking on Star FM’s Teacher Live programme, Al-McNairy said she was struggling to figure out how her 26-year-old daughter died in the plot and was buried without her knowledge.
“We were not informed of her death and only heard about it through the neighbors,” Al-McNairy said.
“We then went to the farm where we were advised to seek protection as they were reported to be violent.
“The place is called Canaan, and everything they work for goes to Commander Ismail. All the proceeds go to him.
“My daughter died and was buried by four men who were not related to her.”
Her daughter’s case is similar to the mysterious death and hasty burial of Professor Itai Mohwati, who died in the same mausoleum in June 2022.
He was buried a few hours after his death without the knowledge of his family and relatives.
At the time of his death, his family said they suspected foul play because, as in the case of Mukanyeri’s daughter, they had not been notified of the University of Zimbabwe professor’s death.
As in the case of the McNairy’s daughter, no burial order was obtained for Professor Mahawati’s burial a few hours after his death.
The professor’s body was exhumed by his family and the sect members who buried him were not found during the exhumation.
The police said at the time that they had opened an investigation into the case.
A national police spokesman said: “We are carrying out investigations with the aim of finding out what really happened and we urge families, churches and members of the public that if something happens, especially of this type (death), they should report it to the police.” Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said at the time.
It was not possible to confirm yesterday the results of the investigations.
At the time, Professor Mahawati’s brother told the Herald they suspected foul play.
“The problem is that they buried him without telling us. His church members know me and my brothers, so they should have told us instead of burying him without telling us as his family.
Two years later, Al-McNairy says exactly the same words about the tragic incident that occurred at the same shrine. h metro
