A WOMAN from Bulawayo’s Barbourfields suburb was found dead
in a sewer tunnel near her family home at Mhlophe Flats in Mzilikazi suburb
with her family suspecting that she could have been mugged and murdered.
The woman identified as Evelyn Gutuza (50), was discovered
by neighbours yesterday morning. She is thought to have died on Wednesday
shortly after leaving Mhlophe Flats at around 8.30pm.
She was on way to her rented house in neighbouring
Barbourfields suburb after spending the day at the family home in Mzilikazi.
The deceased’s family allege that she was strangled before
her body was dumped in the culvert a few metres away from her family home.
However, police are treating the case as sudden death,
saying there were no visible injuries or bruises suggesting that she could have
been murdered.
When a Chronicle news crew visited the deceased’s family
yesterday, neighbours and relatives had gathered at Mhlophe Flats.
The deceased’s sister, Ms Louise Gutuza, who stays at the
family house in Mzilikazi, said they were alerted by neighbours upon stumbling
on Evelyn’s body in the sewer drainage. The visibly distressed Ms Gutuza told
Chronicle that she was terrified upon seeing her sister’s body lying inside the
tunnel and there was froth coming out of her mouth.
She strongly suspects her sister was killed by muggers
while on her way to Barbourfields.
“We had actually spent the day at our family home watching
movies on television. She left our place at around 8pm and we got shocked this
morning when neighbours came to inform us about her death,” said Ms Gutuza.
“Although my sister was hypertensive, she never showed any
signs of being unwell when she left our flat, which is why we suspect she was
killed by thugs on her way to Barbourfields where she stayed with her family.”
Evelyn’s niece, Ms Tamlin Motshoeneng said her aunt did not
reach home on Wednesday night and her husband suspected that she had decided to
sleep in Mzilikazi. “My aunt never reached home last night after she left our
house in Mzilikazi. However, this morning her husband came looking for her
thinking she slept here and when we told him that she left the previous night
he went back,” she said.
“While on his way back home, he came across two strangers
who informed him that there was a woman lying dead in a sewer drainage.”
Ms Motshoeneng said upon arrival at the scene, his uncle
discovered that it was his wife’s body. “It was around 6am when my uncle
discovered the body and he immediately made a U-turn and informed us about my
aunt’s death before he proceeded to the police station and reported the
matter,” she said.
Ms Motshoeneng said when they checked her aunt’s WhatsApp’s
messages on her cellphone, it showed that she was last seen at 8.39pm.
The deceased’s cousin, Ms Valeria Nematanga said when they
arrived at the scene, they discovered that she had blood clots and swellings on
her back indicating that she could have been strangled.
“This is a murder case and we suspect Evelyn was strangled
by her attackers. Her handbag was missing and the only valuable item that we
discovered was her cellphone, which was stashed inside her panties,” she said.
Ms Nematanga said they suspected the woman’s attackers were
people from the neighbourhood who took advantage of the curfew hours to rob and
kill Evenyn because the streets were deserted.
“It is possible that her assailants only wanted to rob her,
but when she recognised them that is when they decided to kill her to conceal
evidence. They couldn’t steal her cellphone because she had hidden it in her
undergarment,” she said.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube
confirmed the incident. He however, said they were investigating a case of
sudden death.
“The woman had visited her relatives at Mhlophe Flats where
she spent the whole day watching television. Later in the evening at 8pm she
then decided to leave for her home in Barbourfields and she was given
vegetables to go and cook at her home,” he said.
“However, she did not arrive home and the following morning
her husband went to look for her thinking she was still in Mzilikazi and that
is when he discovered her body lying alongside the road leading to Mhlophe
Flats and a report was made to us.”
The body was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH)
for a post mortem.
“We are investigating a sudden death case since she had no
visible injuries to suggest that she could have been attacked. However, we are
now waiting for post mortem results, which will guide us on the exact cause of
her death,” said the police spokesperson. Chronicle
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