BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE – Siqokoqela Mphoko, the son of the late former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, was conspicuously absent from his father’s burial at the family’s Douglasdale plot in Bulawayo yesterday, highlighting deep family divisions.
The absence underscores years of bitter conflict between father and son, marked by public accusations and legal battles that have torn apart one of Zimbabwe’s prominent political families.
“The wounds run too deep,” said a family member who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation. “Today’s empty seat speaks volumes about relationships that couldn’t be mended.”
The family rift exploded into public view last year when Siqokoqela accused his father, along with his stepmother and two sisters, of orchestrating false rape allegations against him involving his niece. Though courts later dismissed these charges, the damage to family bonds proved irreparable.
This followed earlier controversies in 2018 when Siqokoqela and his wife Nomagugu faced accusations of unlawfully obtaining over US$30,000 from Choppies Supermarkets in Bulawayo. While those charges eventually collapsed, they further strained the father-son relationship.
Family insiders describe the fallout as stemming from “irreconcilable differences,” with attempts at reconciliation failing to bridge the divide before the former Vice President’s death.
Siqokoqela has publicly denounced his father’s “legacy of ruins,” breaking from the traditional reverence shown to deceased political figures in Zimbabwe.
Yesterday’s burial, though attended by other family members and associates, cast a spotlight on the unresolved tensions. Mourners observed how the absence of the eldest son reflected the painful reality of a family divided until the end.
The former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s final will explicitly disinherited his eldest son, Siqokoqela.
The Mphoko family saga reveals how personal conflicts can overshadow public legacies, particularly among Zimbabwe’s political elite. As attendees departed the Douglasdale plot, many reflected on how a once-united family now stands fractured in their moment of loss.
