A HARARE man shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself on Wednesday at their workplace in Glen Lorne in a suspected longstanding domestic dispute. The incident occurred at Imba Matombo Lodge where Farai Maseka (40) and Alice Sibanda (27) were both employed.
Maseka, who was on suspension, was the security manager, while Sibanda was a general hand. Police investigations have so far revealed that the two had a longstanding dispute which had resulted in Sibanda running away from their matrimonial home and staying at work.
Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau yesterday confirmed the incident. He said Sibanda was shot in the chest, while Maseka shot himself under the chin. “On Wednesday at around 1830hours the husband visited the workplace and parked his Mercedes Benz at the carpark,” Insp Sabau said.
Sibanda went and sat in the car. “After about 30 minutes, the shift manager heard two gunshots from the carpark and remained in the office since he was afraid,” Insp Sabau said. The manager phoned the police who arrived at the scene and saw two bodies lying in pools of blood, about three metres away from the car.
“They discovered that the wife had a gunshot wound on the chest while the husband had one under the chin,” said Insp Sabau. “A 9mm pistol was found under the right hand of the husband.”
Domestic disputes that result in fatalities are on the increase in the country. Nine out of 24 murder cases recorded in February were a result of domestic-related disputes. Some of the cases were attributed to infidelity while others to longstanding disputes.
In January, police in Shamva arrested Zivai Chimombe for allegedly murdering his wife following a domestic dispute. Chimombe subsequently attempted suicide, but was rescued by neighbours before being taken to Mount Darwin Hospital under police guard.
A domestic dispute between a Hurungwe couple ended tragically when the husband fatally struck his one-year-old son who was strapped to the mother’s back, during the same month. In January, a Chinamhora man reportedly poured paraffin on his wife and set her ablaze after she accused him of infidelity.
