Kumalo murder: Cops track killer by cellphone

By Thandeka Moyo

A Bulawayo woman was murdered and dumped near a dust road linking the city’s Romney Park and Kumalo suburbs and the body was only found two days later by her husband.

A man has since been arrested in connection with Lisa Mbizvo’s murder. She was last seen on March 19, while on her way to work at Ascot Business Centre.

The woman’s body was found two days after her husband Edson Mbizvo had made a missing person’s report to the police when she did not report for work or return home.

The suspect in the case, Passmore Chovhani, was found in possession of the woman’s phone and is now assisting police with investigations.

On Saturday, the State led by Dennmore Kasenza applied for Chovhani’s further detention to facilitate police investigations and Bulawayo magistrate Tinashe Tashaya granted the application.

Mbizvo was allegedly strangled to death with her petticoat lace which was found hanging around her neck.

Allegations are that on March 19, the woman left for work and never returned home resulting in a report being made to the police by her husband.

“On 21 March 2015, the body of the now deceased was seen by the husband, about 10 metres from the dust road which links Romney Park and Kumalo suburbs,” said Kasenza in his application.

There was blood on the left side of her neck.

Her skirt was raised to waist level while her skin tights were removed from the left leg and lowered to knee level.

Detectives also observed that the woman’s handbag and her pair of brown shoes were two metres from the body. Her Nokia X2 cellphone was missing.

On April 2, Chovhani was arrested and the woman’s cellphone was recovered from him.

Mbizvo’s killing comes at a time when murder cases are on the increase in the city. The Chronicle