A man in Zimbabwe identified as Leo Kanyimo have reportedly hacked his wife and two children to death while they were all praying.

The man who is in his 30’s reportedly grabbed an axe to hack his family members to death on Tuesday afternoon, November, 2 at Woodlands suburb.

However, one of his children escaped the attack and was saved by neighbors.

Witnesses who described Kanyimo as a core member of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM), said the family were conducting a prayer session for one of his children who was allegedly possessed by evil spirits.

A neighbor, Charles Ngazi told Zimbabwe local reporters;

“We knew him as a prayerful man and yesterday he said they were fasting and praying for one of their children whom he said was possessed by some evil spirits.

“As they were praying in their house, we suddenly heard some screams and when we dashed to the scene, we realized that he was axing his family.”

The corpse of the trio were discovered on the family’s bed and floor.

Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said they were investigating the incident.