Zanele Moyo

SHURUGWI — A 26-year-old artisanal miner was recently murdered after an argument over sadza.

Tanaka Sithole from Chipinge met his untimely demise at the hands of Nicholas Matanda (19) a fellow artisanal miner from Mazivise Village under Chief Nhema in Shurugwi who stabbed him with an okapi knife.

Matanda has since been arrested.

Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said the incident occurred on May 9 at around 11pm at Dollar Farm in Shurugwi.

It is alleged that the two had a misunderstanding over the sharing of sadza which resulted in Matanda withdrawing an okapi knife and stabbing Sithole on the armpit before running away.

Sithole was rushed to Gweru Provincial Hospital where he succumbed to the injuries on May 11 at around 2am.

Police made a follow-up and arrested Matanda who is expected to appear in court soon.

Insp. Mahoko urged the public to respect human lives and avoid unnecessary disputes.

“We are appealing to members of the public to respect human life and avoid unnecessary disputes,” he said.