A 55-YEAR-OLD Filabusi man went berserk and allegedly axed his wife (34) to death before committing suicide by drinking a pesticide.
Mr Zama Mafu of Sidingimpilo Village under Chief Maduna had
a week ago reportedly walked in on his wife, Simelokhuhle Dube, in the couple’s
matrimonial bed with one of his neighbours, leading to an altercation.
The couple appeared to have made up, but Mafu allegedly
became violent on Tuesday night. It could not be established if the latest
outburst was connected to Dube’s alleged infidelity. Mafu allegedly viciously
axed his wife twice on the head and she is suspected to have died instantly.
Neighbours found her body in a pool of blood in a bush on
Wednesday at around 6AM, about 300m from the couple’s homestead.
Neighbours said Mafu could have killed his wife on Tuesday
at around 8PM and immediately drank a poisonous dipping chemical.
When police attended the crime scene on Wednesday, they
found him home in a critical state and rushed him to Filabusi District Hospital
where he died on the same day. He was not able to explain the motive behind the
brutal murder, as he could not speak.
Matabeleland South acting police spokesperson Inspector
Loveness Mangena yesterday decried the violent killing and suicide. She urged
members of the public to be civil when handling domestic disputes.
She said people should learn to engage third parties for
counselling and advice whenever they face challenges to avoid intimate partner
violence. Inspector Mangena said Dube’s body was discovered by a villager who
was walking to his fields.
“We are investigating a murder case where a 55-year-old
Filabusi man axed his wife on December 8 about 300 metres from their homestead.
“When the body was discovered, police were notified and
attended the scene and found the woman lying in a pool of blood,” said Insp
Mangena.
“Police also observed that Simelokhule Dube had two deep
cuts on her head and the axe used in committing the crime was recovered next to
her body.” Insp Mangena said police
tracked footprints near the body to Mafu’s homestead.
“We managed to arrest him although we learnt that he had
already taken poison in an attempt to take his life. He was already critical
and was rushed to Filabusi District Hospital where he died,” she added.
Sources close to the family said the couple led a happy and
peaceful life until Dube allegedly cheated and was caught red handed with their
neighbour.
Family members were engaged to solve the dispute days ago
and the couple resolved to forgive each other before the gory killing.
The incident comes after the country joined the world in commemorating 16 days of Activism Against Gender based Violence which ended yesterday.
This year’s commemorations were held under the theme:
“Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent and Collect.”
GBV does not only comprise physical abuse, rape and
attempted rape, but also includes sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, forced
early marriage, domestic violence, marital rape, trafficking, female genital
mutilation and economic abuse.
Statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police indicate that
from the period July-September this year, a total of 1 128 cases of rape were
reported. During the same period a total of 3 310 cases of domestic violence
were also reported.
According to the recently released Stopping Abuse and
Female Exploitation (SAFE) Zimbabwe Technical Assistance Facility report
produced together with the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, violence against
women and girls shot up by 38,5 percent during the first two months of the
lockdown (April to May 2020) compared to the preceding two months before the
national lockdown (February to March 2020. Chronicle
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