The family,
which has been very vocal over the matter, is also accusing authorities of
handling Hove’s death in an unprofessional and obscure manner.
Hove’s father,
Mr Chikauriso Hove, told Chronicle that he engaged ZLHR to demand clarity over
the circumstances.
ZLHR last week
served police with a seven-day ultimatum to provide tangible details about the
incident.
Copies of the
letter were also sent to the Officer in Charge
of Pumula Police Station, the Officer Commanding Bulawayo Province, ZRP
Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba and Home Affairs Minister, Kazembe
Kazembe.
ZLHR also
quizzed the actions of the late Hove’s colleague identified as Lethokuhle
Sibanda, who reportedly completed forms authorising a post-mortem without
consulting the family.
“The family is
alarmed at the allegations raised about the conduct of one Lethokuhle Sibanda,
who had reportedly completed some forms authorising the carrying out of a
post-mortem on the body of the deceased person without consulting her family,”
read a statement from ZLHR.
The family
further alleged that Sibanda visited Cassandra’s home after her death,
demanding details about her property and mobile phones from her children.
“After
Cassandra had been shot, the same Sibanda visited the deceased person’s
residence, where she found the late law enforcement agent’s children and
demanded certain information about her residential properties and demanded her
mobile phones, but her children refused to comply after getting guidance from
their relatives,” said ZLHR.
Mr Hove alleges
Sibanda received R3 000 from Luveve residents as a funeral contribution but did
not hand it over to the family.
Another concern
raised by the family is the arrest of a suspected armed robber, who the team
was reportedly in pursuit of.
“The family had
also received information that a suspect, named Fikile Ncube, had been arrested
by ZRP officers on the night when Cassandra died in connection with her death,
but this information was not communicated
to the family or her relatives,” ZLHR said.
During a
meeting with ZRP officials on March 8, the family was told that Hove was
reportedly shot with a police-issued firearm.
“On March 8
2025, Mr Hove said he attended a meeting together with his relatives with the
Officer In Charge of CID Homicide in Bulawayo and other ZRP officers, where he
was informed that the preliminary findings were that his daughter had been shot
by a police-issued firearm, contrary to what the family had been told before,”
ZLHR said.
Police are yet
to release further information regarding the case but police
Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba has ordered a comprehensive investigation
into the circumstances surrounding Hove’s death, assuring the family that no
stone will be left unturned. Chronicle
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