Tout ‘kills’ cousin, pretends to be an informant

By Nqobile Tshili

A tout from Bulawayo allegedly beat his cousin to death with an iron bar and made a false police report that he had found him dead.

Makhosi Ncube (33) is suspected to have killed Keith Ramjis (40), whom he lived with at a family house in Thorngrove suburb between Saturday and Sunday morning.

On Sunday night, a panicky Ncube allegedly told neighbours that he had stumbled on Ramjis’ bloodied body in the house and they advised him to report to the police.

Police investigations linked him to the brutal killing and he was arrested on the same night.

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube yesterday confirmed the murder case and said police were yet to establish a motive for the killing.

He said Ncube was assisting cops with investigations.

“We are investigating a suspected murder case where 40-year-old man was found dead at his home in Thorngrove suburb. The deceased and the informant shared a room,” said Insp Ncube.

“Investigating officers observed that the deceased had a deep cut on his forehead. His head was swollen and he had another cut on his back. The officers also discovered a wooden piece of broom stick and an iron bar which were hidden under the deceased’s bed.”

The officers, Insp Ncube said, also discovered that Ramjis’s blood stained blankets had been placed on a washing line together with the Ncube’s bloodied jeans.

“This led to the police connecting the informant with the murder and he is now assisting them with investigations,” he said.

He said prior to Ramjis’s death, the two had attended a party in Mahatshula suburb on Saturday. “It is alleged that on Saturday the two of them attended a party in Mahatshula suburb before returning home at 8PM.

“The two shared a room in the house belonging to the deceased’s mother who is based in the United Kingdom.

The informant claimed that he left the following morning and went to Harare Road where he operates as a tout. He claimed that on his return at about 8PM on Sunday he stumbled on the deceased’s body and reported the matter to their neighbours who encouraged him to report the case to the police who attended the scene,” he said.

A Chronicle news crew visited the family’s residence yesterday where relatives said they were not sure what led the cousins to have the fatal scuffle.

Family spokesperson Mrs Siqondeni Chitsiga said: “We don’t know what transpired. What we know is that they fought.

“They are cousins. We also have not accessed him (Ncube) since he was picked by the police to ask him what really transpired,” said Mrs Chitsiga. The Chronicle