After Amanda recovered, Ncedo went back to the streets to find something for them to eat. He had no idea where to start, and he was not aware of where he was heading until he reached the spot where his parents had been burnt.

Ncedo’s parents were accused of witchcraft, and because the community was upset, they had burnt them alive with Ncedo watching. His life changed the minute Mr. Makena poured flammable fluid on their heads, and he saw his parents burning alive. During the process, Ncedo was watching while tied up. The whole community wanted to torture him for what his parents had done, but it was unfortunate because the accusations were false.

Rob, Ncedo’s father, was always working at night as a security guard, while Beatrice, Ncedo’s mother, was working as a sport treasurer at Parktown. Parktown was seven hundred kilometres away from Villiers, which was where they are all lived. They both believed in witchcraft, but they never practised it, and since they believe in witchcraft, they decided not to inform anyone about their working fields.

Because of Beatrice and Rob’s silence, their neighbourhood and relatives wondered how they made their living. On the other hand, the community did not know where Beatrice was. Akhona’s pregnancy also created a boundary between the two families. That is to say, the two families did not get along after Akhona’s pregnancy because Ncedo had unlocked the “golden key” of Mary’s daughter. The truth was that her golden key could never be locked again, so Mary made the whole community believe that Ncedo’s parents were practising witchcraft.

“Believe me, they’re practising witchcraft,” Mary said to a group of friends at the time. “Have you ever wondered where Beatrice was? Do you even know where Rob works? No one knows! The truth is, Rob is seeing a witch doctor every night. They work every night with one, and they have even spilt someone’s blood in order to make money.”

Even as Mary said that, it was hard for the group to believe her until one of Mary’s friends, Hloni, visited Ncedo’s house.

Anele, who was Hloni’s child and, also, Ncedo’s classmate, visited Ncedo to do some schoolwork. They had been studying until late that night, and, after studying, Anele never returned home. She then went missing on Wednesday night, but the matter was only reported to the police on Friday morning. That incident, to a lot of people, supported Mary’s statement, and everyone soon believed that Ncedo’s parents had done something on Anele.

“See? I told you and you did not believe me,” Mary stated after the incident.

Tell us: What do you think needs to be done to Mary for spreading the lie about Ncedo’s parents that eventually led to their death?