Sunningdale blast caused by mortar bomb

Police on Tuesday said the explosive that killed one man, a welder, in Harare’s Sunningdale suburb on Monday was an 80mm mortar bomb.

The bomb was brought by four people who were travelling in a Pajero mini that was parked a few metres way from the late Moses Mudefi’s house along Second Street.

A relative, Mr Takesure Matiza, said between 3 and 4pm, three people – two men and a woman — approached Mudefi at his workplace with the bomb.

“At first he didn’t want to do the job but was offered US$100 by these people. He then used a grinder to grind the device in order to extract red mercury,” he said.

Mr Matiza said during the process, the bomb exploded killing Mudefi on the spot and injuring a colleague, James Mupunga.

Mupunga was taken to Harare Hospital for treatment.

Mudefi’s body was today taken to Harare Hospital mortuary for a post mortem after spending the night at the scene. Members of the Bomb Disposal Unit, CID Forensic Unit and detectives visited the scene for investigations.

Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said the police had launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding the blast.

“There are indications that two guys went to Sunningdale looking for a welder to grind their unspecified object. While in the process of grinding the object, it blew up resulting in serious head injuries to the person who was grinding leading to his death.

“The two men who had brought the object were injured when the blast occurred and they have since been taken to hospital. Police Specialist Section (Criminal Investigations Department) has visited the place to establish the type of object. We are now investigating the case,” she said.

Meanwhile, a grocery shop in Southlands in Harare was last night razed to the ground when gas cylinders used to power refrigerators burst.

No one was injured and the Harare Fire Brigade put off the fire.

In January last year, preliminary investigations into the blast that killed six people in Chitungwiza and destroyed 12 houses pointed to the use of explosives.

Though police said they were yet to identify the type of explosives, speculation is rife that it could have been an anti-tank landmine. Speculation was rife that the traditional healer and his clients sought to extract mercury from a bomb when tragedy struck. The Herald