Murder in the woods
THE corpse of a six-year-old Grade One pupil from Zvishavane, who recently went missing was, on Saturday found dumped in a bushy area in circumstances pointing to murder.
The boy’s corpse was stashed in a sack near Lot 4 of Zvishavane.
Police have since launched investigations to ascertain the cause of Elohim Ziwanza’s death.
When the boy died, he was wearing a pair of grey school uniform, grey socks and black shoes.
Preliminary investigations have so far revealed that the boy left home on October 21 while going to Makwasha Primary School, but did not return home.
His mother came back from work and discovered that he was not at home.
She reported the case to the police the following morning. Efforts to locate the boy Yeukai Karengezeka A CHITUNGWIZA woman appeared in court on Saturday on allegations of abandoning her five-month-old twins that she had left in the care of her colleague.
Nancy Gorejena (21) appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Mrs Feresi Chakanyuka charged with ill-treatment or neglect of children or young persons.
She pleaded guilty and was remanded in custody to today for sentencing.
In aggravation, the State had indicated proved fruitless until his body was discovered by a man who was onhis way from Masunda Village.
The man is reported to have noticed a suspicious sack that was dumped on the roadside and he reported to the police. Police attended the scene and found the boy’s body inside the sack. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations were still in progress.
Meanwhile, police in Masvingo are also investigating a case of suspected murder which occurred last Wednesday around 4pm along Rhus Street in Rhodene suburb.
An unidentified man was found lying in a pool of blood.
“A deep cut was observed on his mouth, bruises on the forehead and his mouth was frothing,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
“It is suspected that his hands were tied that it was problematic to send her to prison, but after taking into consideration the husband’s account of how careless she had been with the children, both the State and Mrs Chakanyuka agreed that a custodial sentence would suffice.
The State, led by Mr Farai Katonha, told the court that on October 13 at around 6pm, Gorejena’s friend, Veronica Musulani, visited her at home.
She asked her to watch over the twins and promised to return shortly afterwards, but never did. as some marks were observed on both wrists.
“The victim was rushed to hospital and later passed on. Police are appealing for information that may lead to the identification of the deceased and arrest of the accused person. Information can be passed to the nearest police station.”
Police in Plumtree are also investigating another murder case, in which a man was involved in a scuffle with a friend on July 30 this year after a misunderstanding.
“Accused struck the victim with a brick on the head and he sustained some injuries,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
“The victim had been in and out of hospital for treatment.
“On October 23, 2019 the victim passed on due to injuries which were later revealed as skull fracture and internal haemorrhage.”
Musulani told Gorejena’s husband that it was difficult for her to look after the babies since she also had a young baby.
The husband, Noel Gorejena, subsequently reported the matter to the police.
Gorejena was arrested in St Mary’s on October 24 after she was found taking drugs, after which the police realised that she was the same person they were looking for in the case of child neglect.
Meanwhile, the twins are admitted at Chitungwiza Central Hospital for assessment.
A TOP police officer, Assistant Commissioner Eliot Muswita, who died last week, was buried on Sunday in Masvingo after being declared a liberation war hero.
Asst Comm Muswita, who was responsible for administration in Midlands Province, died in Harare last Thursday after a short illness.
In a statement yesterday, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, senior officers and the ZRP family were deeply saddened by his death.
“His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, conferred a liberation war hero status to the late Cde Eliot Muswita,” he said.
“A church service for the late senior officer was held at Morris Depot chapel on Saturday 26 October, 2019.
“He was buried at Ndhluvu Village under Chief Madamombe in Chivi, Masvingo Province, on Sunday 27 October, 2019 at 1100hours.”
Asst Comm Muswita joined the ZRP on October 2, 1987.
A veteran of the liberation struggle, he went to Chidyamakomo Primary School in Chivi between 1965 and 1972 before enrolling at Serima Mission for his secondary education, but failed to complete Form 2 due to challenges within his family following the death of his father.
In 1977, he crossed into Mozambique to join the liberation struggle and did his training at Chibawawa Base.
He went for further training at Sabha Abril Military Academy in Libya where he was awarded an Appendage Certificate of Great Triumph and returned to Mozambique as platoon commander.
His nom de guerre was Kalisto Chidziva Chepo.
After demobilisation, Asst Comm Muswita joined the Ministry of Education as a teacher between 1982 and 1983 while also studying for his Ordinary Levels.
He joined the police in 1987 as a patrol officer and was posted to ZRP Ruwangwe.
He served at various police stations countrywide.
He was a holder of a postgraduate diploma in Business Intelligence, Higher National Diploma in Business Management and a Higher Law Certificate.
GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, is set to disburse $8,4 million to Ruwa Local Board to address its service delivery issues, an official has said.
In an interview, Ruwa Local Board town secretary Mr Kumbirai Madanhi confirmed the development, saying the money would be channelled towards key sectors.
“As a local board, we have several issues bedevilling us and we engaged the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to assist us and they have promised to avail $8,4 million through fiscal transfer,” he said.
“We are hoping that the money will be channelled towards our biggest challenge of water crisis, the health sector as well as other utilities.”
Mr Madanhi said the water situation needed urgent attention as the two supply dams were almost drying up.
The situation has been exacerbated by the limited water supply from Harare City Council.
Mr Madanhi said they planned to conduct a feasibility study on the dams as they intended to raise the dam wall and de-silt the two dams Nora Valley and Greenskyes.
“We are intending to raise the dam wall at Nora Valley Dam, as well as de-silt it together with Greenskyes Dam so that we can have better water supply that can be consumed by the residents,” he said.
The local authority is using four bowsers it procured recently in a bid to avert the water crisis.
Mr Madanhi said council was in the process of identifying sites where they can drill boreholes for areas like Zimre Park, Runyararo and Damofalls.
The situation has resulted in many residents spending hours searching for water.