By Tim Binnall
A family in Zimbabwe are without a home after a strange series of mysterious spontaneous fires inside the house culminated with the two-story structure being reduced to ashes. According to a local media report, the curious case started around three weeks ago when the baffling blazes first began inexplicably erupting at the residence in the village of Mandikutse. To the consternation of the unfortunate household, the fires occurred on an almost-daily basis with seemingly no explanation for what could be causing them.
"They usually begin on the curtains, burning from the top down," family member Wilton Kambarami explained, noting that he initially thought the incidents might be caused by his younger brother having a surreptitious cigarette. However, he eventually dismissed that theory as the case continued "because the fires break out even when nobody is at home. Weirdly, Kambarami also noted that "there is no electricity at our homestead," which would rule out faulty wiring as a possible culprit for the bewildering blazes.
The predicament came to a head last week when a fire erupted in the home yet again and the family found extinguishing it to be impossible. "We tried everything to stop it," he recalled, "but it continued until our house was completely destroyed." Having "lost everything," the family is now said to be "sleeping in the open" at the property and relying on the kindness of the community for help.
That said, Kambarami lamented that the strange circumstances surrounding the case have led to the perception that some kind of curse has befallen them as "people are even scared to visit because they fear they could end up caught in the middle of these incidents." To that end, the man indicated that the family enlisted a faith healer to eradicate whatever dark cloud is lingering over them, but they lack the funds to pay for the costly "cleansing ceremony" that was prescribed.