Chiredzi man kills wife over money

Masvingo (New Ziana) – A 41-year-old Chiredzi woman has allegedly committed suicide after reportedly being repeatedly beaten by her 32-year-old husband over family money she was keeping to buy cattle.

The husband, Eriya Mbulawa is reported to have given his wife, Dudzai Nyaku, US$250 for safekeeping, with a view of using it to buy cattle for the family.

But on March 13, 2023, Mbulawa demanded the money back for an unknown purpose, which the wife turned down.

According to police, Mbulawa then assaulted Nyaku for refusing to give him the money, and later took her to his parents’ home nearby to have the couple reconciled.

The wife reportedly still stood her ground, suspecting that Mbulawa wanted to spend the money on girlfriends.

“On 13 March around 4pm, Mbulawa came back home from a meeting and demanded US$250 that he had given to his wife, Nyaku for safe keeping. Nyaku refused with the money for fear that he was going to spend it on girlfriends. Mbulawa started assaulting his wife using a stick and the following day took his wife to his parents’ house to help them resolve their differences,” Masvingo police spokesman, Kudakwashe Dehwa said.

“On 15 March around 9pm, Mbulawa went back to his parents’ house demanding to take his wife back home. His mother Martha Mbulawa, (58), refused but he dragged Nyaku out of the house and took her to their home where he continued beating her up. On 16 March, Martha went to check on her daughter-in-law; Eriya told her that she had gone to the fields. After his mother had left, Eriya continued beating his wife all over the body with a stick until Nyaku told him that she would rather die if he continued assaulting her. She then drank cotton herbicide,” he added.

Mbulawa ran away from home after Nyaku died but was arrested at a local business centre a day later.

New Ziana