Sinokubonga Nkala
Musawenkosi Moyo
MOTHERS are often held to a high moral standard by society, expected to care for and nurture their children with infinite love.
However, it’s often forgotten that they too are human beings who feel pain and have limits to their endurance.
One such mother is Nolitha Ndlovu (70), from Nkulumane suburb in Bulawayo who pleaded with the court to sentence her son, Mehluli Modi (47), to jail as punishment for stealing her solar panel.
“I want him to be given a jail sentence. I am tired of him; he has become a problem in my life, always breaking, burning, and selling things from my house.
He accuses me and his brothers of bewitching him and constantly threatens to kill me. I have been living in fear in my own home,” she said.
She made the passionate plea before Western Commonage magistrate Mehluli Moyo, where her son was appearing on one count of theft.
Modi pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted.
The matter was remanded to December 13, 2024, for sentencing.
Ndlovu told the court that in 2023, she was forced to abandon her home for an entire year out of fear of her son’s behaviour.
She added that he also troubles their neighbours, who, like her, do not want him back in the community.
“I have been going back and forth to the police station and court to obtain protection orders against him, but they never work. He always refuses to follow the court orders,” she said.
In his defence, Modi while admitting to breaking things around the house and selling the solar panel, he, however, claimed that his family was using him for witchcraft purposes.
The court heard that in November 2024, in Nkulumane suburb, the accused took his mother’s solar panel and sold it without her knowledge. The matter was reported to the police, leading to his arrest.
