Man fatally assaults niece over ‘love affair’

IN AN incident that has left Chikonohono residents in Chinhoyi shocked, a 40-year-old man allegedly fatally assaulted the 19-year-old niece he was staying with after accusing her of having an affair with a married man last Friday.

Vincent Muzeke has since been arrested and will appear in court soon.

The circumstances are that on Friday, Muzeke called his niece Edna Venganayi, a Form Four pupil at Nemakonde High School and started quizzing her over the alleged affair.

The girl denied the allegations, but Muzeke dragged her inside the house and started beating her all over the body using a hosepipe.

Later, Muzeke locked her up in the room before leaving for the nearby shops to buy food.

Upon his return, he found the girl lying unconscious and called Ronica Gwaze, a neighbour to help him administer first aid on the girl.

He took the unconscious girl to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Muzeke was arrested. Mashonaland West Provincial Police spokesperson, Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara, confirmed the incident.

He advised people to solve problems amicably.

“I can confirm that police in Chinhoyi on Friday arrested a male adult, Vincent Muzeke, aged 40 in connection with the death of a female teenager, Edna Venganayi whom he allegedly beat up with a hosepipe until she lost consciousness, leading to her eventual death.

“We would like to urge members of the public to solve their issues amicably to avoid unnecessary loss of life. People should engage relatives, friends and even police public relations officers stationed at all police camps whenever they have problems,” he said.

The girl’s body was still held at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital awaiting a post-mortem.