Det Const Hove
whose death has sent shockwaves across Zimbabwe’s crime fighting ranks,
tragically lost her life at a local private clinic after sustaining gunshot
wounds to her upper limbs during a police raid in the Habbek area of Pumula
South.
Speaking to
Sunday News yesterday, the Officer Commanding Bulawayo Province, Comm Chizemo
said it was sad that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) had lost a hardworking
officer. He added that no stone would be left unturned in the ongoing search
for her killers.
“We are very
saddened by her loss, particularly losing a colleague within the line of duty.
The ZRP has lost a hardworking police officer, a female for that matter, who
died in the line of duty pursuing robbers who had been committing a spate of
robbery cases in the province. We are as the police still determined to account
for all the criminals who were involved in the robberies and that of the death
of one of our own,” he said.
Det Const Hove
was part of a team on the trail of robbers believed to have been preying on
service stations around Bulawayo.
Her fatal
shooting left a dark cloud over Pumula South where the shooting of an officer
of the law left ordinary citizens shell-shocked as they took stock of the
shocking events from Thursday night.
For police
officers who served with Det Const Hove, her shooting was a blow not only to
the force but the entire country as Zimbabwe had lost an officer whose
dedication to crime fighting was unquestionable.
One detective
who spoke to Sunday News on condition of anonymity said Det Const Hove had
distinguished herself as a highly capable officer, whose crime-solving skills
had eventually led to her recommendation to the CID. Once there, she became one
of the pioneering members of the Lozikeyi unit.
“CID is a very
special unit that deals with high-profile criminal cases like murder and armed
robberies. For members of the police to be incorporated into the squad, they
should not only have passed particular interviews but would have been selected
based on their various top-tier exhibitions in the execution of duties,” said
the source.
Fearlessness
and bravery were two qualities that made Det Const Hove a valuable member of
the force, the source revealed.
“Detective
Constable Hove is one of the officers who exhibited brilliance while in her
previous station, particularly bravery. She had just been recently deployed
into the CID Homicide squad where she also became one of the founding members
of the Queen Lozikeyi group,” said the source.
Another
detective who spoke on condition of anonymity also revealed that Det Const Hove
was an intellectual titan who often encouraged her colleagues to pursue their
academic dreams.
According to
the source, the tough but soft-spoken crime fighter had recently graduated with
a degree in forensic accounting from a local institution of higher learning.
“She always
encouraged members to study and led by example as she recently graduated. She
was very soft-spoken but was tough when it came to her execution of duties. The
role that she played is not for the faint of heart and for her to take up this
challenging role shows how brave she was and above all, her dedication towards
fighting crime,” said the source.
Away from the
professional ranks, the killing of Det Const Hove struck a sad chord with
Zimbabweans on social media, as pictures and videos of the late officer were
met with an outpouring of sympathy and grief.
One TikTok
video in particular, in which the late detective captured herself and her four
children eating out at a fast food outlet while John Chibadura Junior’s Vana
Vangu Junior played in the background, brought emotional reactions from many
social media users across various platforms.
In the song,
the musician asks God to grant him long life so he can see his children grow
older. Sunday News
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