At first, it
was believed that the promising young man had consumed poison after visiting
his girlfriend Tanatswa Moleni’s homestead in the Mukarati area near Garabha
shopping centre, Hwedza, Mashonaland East province.
However, the
Muchecheterwa family’s suspicions were raised when he received a phone call
informing him about his son’s death.
Upon arrival at
the mortuary at Mt St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Hwedza, he discovered a scar
on Godrich’s head. This prompted the deceased’s father to demand a post-mortem
to determine the cause of death before burial was conducted.
The body of the
deceased was then transferred to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare. The
first post-mortem results showed that Godrich died of food poisoning, but the
presence of a deep wound on his head remained unexplained.
A second
post-mortem conducted on June 26, 2023 revealed evidence of foul play,
prompting the family to seek justice.
NewsDay
Weekender recently travelled to Hwedza to gather more information on the
unfolding case.
“I knew
something was not right,” Muchecheterwa said, recalling the moment he saw the
scar on his son’s head. As a father, I had to get to the bottom of this.”
He said he
agreed to go on with the burial because police had been given results which
showed that there was foul play, which needed to be investigated.
Godrich’s
burial was done about a month later after his tragic passing on June 28, 2023,
but the Moleni family did not attend, despite residing in the same area.
In a surprising
move, the Muchecheterwa family took Godrich’s corpse to the Moleni’s homestead
in protest during the funeral procession, a development which led them being
later summoned to Headman Chigwedere’s court. Muchecheterwa was accused of
“making the house dirty” in Shona culture and was ordered to pay two goats.
“It was a
cultural taboo, but I did it out of anger and grief,” Muchecheterwa said.
After Godrich’s
burial, Muchecheterwa’s pursuit of justice led him to various police stations —
from Hwedza, Marondera to Police General Headquarters in Harare.
He claims to
have visited police stations around 50 times from the year 2023 up to July
2025, but his pleas for help fell on deaf ears.
“At some point,
I believed that the Moleni family was dealing with the authorities to cover up
the truth,” he told NewsDay Weekender.
“I had lost
hope that closure would ever come. In our culture, the death of a person cannot
be concealed or covered up. The truth will always come out, and I was
determined to see justice served.”
After Godrich’s
case was moved to be investigated by the CID homicide in early July this year,
two groups were assigned to carry out the investigations and they cracked the
Moleni family.
It is reported
that on the day Godrich died, he had a misunderstanding with Mary Moleni, the
mother of his girlfriend, Tanatswa.
According to
the allegations, Mary bashed Godrich with a log and George Moleni (grandfather)
and Margaret Moleni (grandmother) joined in, kicking him until he fell
unconscious.
The Molenis are
alleged to have later called one Evans Mupezeni, their nephew, to carry the
lifeless body away for a fee, but they were seen by villagers, allegedly
leading them to hire a taxi to dispose of the body at Mt St Mary’s mortuary.
This led to the
arrest of the four accused — Mary, George, Margaret and Evans — a fortnight ago
in connection with Godrich’s death.
The Moleni
family members later appeared in court on July 11 and they were all remanded in
custody at St Thomas Marondera Prison until July 25.
Muchecheterwa’s
determination to uncover the truth behind his son’s death has brought a sense
of closure, but the journey to justice is far from over.
“I am relieved
that the truth is finally coming to light,” he said. “I hope the courts will
deliver justice for my son’s death.”
This case
highlights the importance of thorough investigations and the need for justice
to be served.
The outcome of
this case will bring closure to the Muchecheterwa family and serve as a
reminder that justice will always be pursued, no matter how long it takes.
Newsday
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