Bulawayo foot owner, a victim of hit and run accident

A Bulawayo family believes the human foot that was picked up in Ilanda suburb on Tuesday belongs to their relative who was the victim of a hit-and-run accident on Sunday.

The left foot, which looked like it had been crudely hacked off from the body just above the ankle, had become the talk of the city yesterday.

The accident victim, who was reportedly employed by Zesa, was buried at his rural home in Chivi District of Masvingo Province yesterday without the foot.

Speaking in a telephone interview from Chivi, a family member who declined to be named said the male relative was run over by a motorist driving a car with South African registration number plates.

"He was cycling along Robert Mugabe Way near Comoil Filling Station in North End. The motorist did not stop. He was found dead the following morning with his left foot missing," said the relative.

The relative said the motorist later handed himself over to the police at Hillside Police Station.

"The mystery here is how the foot found its way across town to Ilanda. We suspect that when he was hit, the car dragged him and the foot was in the process hacked off and got stuck to the vehicle. Maybe the driver later discovered it and threw it away in Ilanda," said the relative.

"We have just received news that a human foot was found in the city and we strongly suspect it belongs to our deceased relative. We are yet to meet as a family to decide what to do with the foot."

Contacted for comment, the police spokesperson for Bulawayo, Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo, said police were still investigating the issue.

"We suspect that the foot belonged to a cyclist who died in an accident on Sunday. He was found with the foot missing.  Investigations are under way to establish whether the foot is that of the accident victim. Police are also keen to establish how the foot got to Ilanda when the accident occurred at the other end of town in North End," said Insp Moyo.

Speculation had been rife among residents that the foot could have come from a murder victim.

This follows a similar incident that occurred last year in which the discovery of a human leg in Famona led to the arrest of a man who reportedly killed his wife and chopped her body into pieces.

The man, Givemore Nyazvigo  (30), of Number 82 Cecil Avenue, allegedly killed his wife, Ms Lydia Sibanda (25), following an argument over a telephone call. He dumped pieces from her body around the city.

Nyazvigo is still undergoing psychiatric checks to determine his fitness to stand trial, after he started hallucinating in court, saying he kept seeing his wife's ghost.