FUNERAL CAR ATTACKED
. . . FRACAS AT BOREHOLE
TWO Dzivaresekwa men were yesterday arrested for deflating the tyres of a local funeral parlour vehicle and attacking its driver at a borehole.
One theory is that the parlour’s workers had come to wash their trade tools at the borehole.
The two, only identified as Busymark and Moyo, were reported to have stoned a Tinokunda Funeral Parlour driver Simbarashe Shonhiwa accusing him of cleaning a funeral parlour vehicle at their source of drinking water.
However, it turned out that Shonhiwa had used the vehicle to carry water buckets.
The vehicle had a tent and latex gloves inside it.
The fracas started when Christine Jack (72), known as Gogo Moyo, confronted Shonhiwa for parking his vehicle near her vegetables and close to the borehole.
Gogo Moyo said most people associate the branded funeral parlour vehicle with dead bodies.
She could not imagine the vehicle being cleaned near a borehole and vegetables.
“I questioned the driver for cleaning his vehicle near my vegetables and the borehole considering that the vehicle belongs to a funeral parlour,” said Gogo Moyo.
“Neighbours came and he wanted to drive away that is why the two blocked the vehicle and deflated its tyres assuming that he wanted to escape.
“Residents agreed to engage police and see if it was permissible to conduct their cleaning at the borehole.
“Upon their arrival, police arrested the two and cleared the driver over the issue that distracted residents from their duties.
“To us it is taboo to clean anything related to funeral parlours at a public place worse off at a water source,” she said.
Shonhiwa told H-Metro that he wanted to fetch water and not clean the vehicle.
He alleged that Busymark and Moyo were against people from the other side of the road fetching water there as there is another borehole there.
“The issue was blown out of proportion by people who arrived when Gogo Moyo was asking me to remove my vehicle near her vegetables and the borehole,” said Shonhiwa.
“This place is for Tashinga Cooperative residents and I stay across the road here in Dzivaresekwa 2, so these people do not want others to fetch water at this borehole.
“There was a long queue at our side and I decided to fetch water from this borehole not knowing the politics. It is said we do not contribute money in case of repairing the borehole.
“I apologised to the residents and allowed them to look into my vehicle and see for themselves.
“The two overreacted and attacked me and my friend. We left the place running for our dear lives,” said Shonhiwa.