Murder/suicide after man finds wife in bed with neighbour
By Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu
A 55 year old Filabusi man went berserk and allegedly axed his wife (34) to death before committing suicide by drinking a pesticide.
Mr Zama Mafu of Sidingimpilo Village under Chief Maduna had a week ago reportedly walked in on his wife, Simelokhuhle Dube, in the couple’s matrimonial bed with one of his neighbours, leading to an altercation.
The couple appeared to have made up, but Mafu allegedly became violent on Tuesday night.
It could not be established if the latest outburst was connected to Dube’s alleged infidelity.
Mafu allegedly viciously axed his wife twice on the head and she is suspected to have died instantly.
Neighbours found her body in a pool of blood in a bush on Wednesday at around 6AM, about 300m from the couple’s homestead.
Neighbours said Mafu could have killed his wife on Tuesday at around 8PM and immediately drank a poisonous dipping chemical.
When police attended the crime scene on Wednesday, they found him home in a critical state and rushed him to Filabusi District Hospital where he died on the same day.
He was not able to explain the motive behind the brutal murder, as he could not speak.
Matabeleland South acting police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena yesterday decried the violent killing and suicide.
She urged members of the public to be civil when handling domestic disputes.
She said people should learn to engage third parties for counselling and advice whenever they face challenges to avoid intimate partner violence.
Inspector Mangena said Dube’s body was discovered by a villager who was walking to his fields.
“We are investigating a murder case where a 55-year-old Filabusi man axed his wife on December 8 about 300 metres from their homestead.
“When the body was discovered, police were notified and attended the scene and found the woman lying in a pool of blood,” said Insp Mangena.
“Police also observed that Simelokhule Dube had two deep cuts on her head and the axe used in committing the crime was recovered next to her body.”
Insp Mangena said police tracked footprints near the body to Mafu’s homestead.
“We managed to arrest him although we learnt that he had already taken poison in an attempt to take his life. He was already critical and was rushed to Filabusi District Hospital where he died,” she added.
Sources close to the family said the couple led a happy and peaceful life until Dube allegedly cheated and was caught red handed with their neighbour.
Family members were engaged to solve the dispute days ago and the couple resolved to forgive each other before the gory killing.
The incident comes after the country joined the world in commemorating 16 days of Activism Against Gender based Violence which ended yesterday.
This year’s commemorations were held under the theme: “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent and Collect.”
Both men and women suffer from GBV but in most cases, it affects women and girls more just like in other countries that have a patriarchal system in society.
GBV does not only comprise physical abuse, rape and attempted rape, but also includes sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, forced early marriage, domestic violence, marital rape, trafficking, female genital mutilation and economic abuse.
Statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police indicate that from the period July-September this year, a total of 1 128 cases of rape were reported.
During the same period a total of 3 310 cases of domestic violence were also reported.
According to the recently released Stopping Abuse and Female Exploitation (SAFE) Zimbabwe Technical Assistance Facility report produced together with the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, violence against women and girls shot up by 38,5 percent during the first two months of the lockdown (April to May 2020) compared to the preceding two months before the national lockdown (February to March 2020. The Chronicle.
