HARARE, June 16  -- A young mother in southern Zimbabwe killed six children including two of her own with poison before committing suicide over a dispute with her mother, media reported Monday.

State media Herald said Angeline Mabhiza had a dispute with her mother over the children they were staying with and declined to take food for two days. She later poisoned her children aged seven and two and their six-year-old cousin, while the other three who are said to have gone to the homestead to look for water to drink were not spared as they were also unknowingly made to take the suspected pesticide in their water.

A relative, Talent Wapindami, had no kind words for Mabhiza and said it would have been better if she had only taken her own life and spared the children.

"I wonder what crept into her head which saw her poisoning someone's child," Wapindami said.

The tragedy has led family members to consult spirit mediums to establish what could have led Mabhiza to take such action.