Five Gutu men held over two murders

Gutu, (Masvingo Star-New Ziana) – Five Gutu men are helping local police with investigations, one into the alleged murder of his wife for suspected infidelity, and the other four for lynching a suspected thief.

Confirming the arrests, Masvingo police said Christopher Chizema, (30), of Chatsworth is suspected to have attacked to death his 20-year-old wife on the night of December 14 after accusing her of infidelity.

In the other murder case, also on December 14, four men are being held for the suspected murder of an unidentified man they allegedly beat to death after they caught him as he left the house of one of the suspects with stolen electrical gadgets.

It was reported that the deceased unlawfully entered one of the men’s house, and stole electrical gadgets. On his way out he was seen by the owner of the house who was in the company of four friends and they effected a citizen’s arrest. The four thoroughly beat up the deceased and left him for dead by the roadside.

The man’s body was discovered around 4pm by Benias Dube, (70), of Mharadzi Village, Chief Gutu. He reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the four suspects.

In the Chatsworth murder, Chizema is alleged to have arrived home drunk and started assaulting his wife, Shamiso Damana, accusing her of infidelity.

The incident happened around 9pm after Chizema returned from a bar, drunk, and found Shamiso asleep. He forced Damana to wake up, and began accusing her of having a promiscuous affair with a local man.

He hit Damana with a stick, and she tried to escape. He grabbed her from the neck and pulled her back and she hit her head against the wall and fell onto the bed. She suffered a deep cut on the left side of the head.

After the fight, Chizema then slept only to wake up around 2am the following day to find Damana dead. Chizema did not tell anyone until around 5am when the couple’s eight year-old son checked on them and realised that Damana was not responding to his greetings. The child then told his aunt, Ustina Chizema who checked on Damana and discovered that she was dead. Ustina Chizema then reported the case to the police at Chatsworth, leading to her brother’s arrest.

Masvingo provincial police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Charity Mazula encouraged members of the public not to use violence to solve conflicts but to seek amicable ways such as consulting relatives and friends to mediate in order to avoid loss of lives.

She also encouraged members of the public to desist from assaulting criminal suspects and instead hand them over to the police.

Masvingo Star-New Ziana