A 24-year old Zimbabwean student was found dead on a roadside in Algiers on the 20th of June after a beach outing the previous day.
According to a preliminary report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the late student, Ethelbert Chingonzo and four others hired two taxis in the evening to take them back to their halls of residence.
It is alleged Ethelbert and his riding partner picked up a quarrel on the way, resulting in him being dropped off from the taxi in the middle of the night.
The following morning the students could not account for their missing compatriot and approached the Algerian police for assistance.
The report says it was only then that the police informed the students that they had picked up a dead body on the road side and asked them to identify the body, which they discovered to be his.
Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says investigations into the cause of Ethelbert’s death are still going on, while the Ministry of Higher Education which is in charge of the students, is making arrangements for the repatriation Ethelbert’s body.
Ethelbert is from the Rusape area.
Zimbabwe and Algeria share close ties from the time of the Zimbabwean struggle for independence to date when the Magrib country is giving scholarships to Zimbabweans in various fields of study. ZBC
