Man slips and dies on pavement

A 58-year-old Bulawayo man died on the spot after he slipped and fell bashing his head on the edge of a pavement  in the city centre.

The incident happened at the corner of Fort Street and Sixth Avenue on Friday morning.

Witnesses say the man, whose name is withheld until the next of kin are notified, was from the market.

The body lay unattended on the pavement for more than an hour before authorities came to remove it amid complaints by passersby that it was inhumane and unacceptable.


The body lay there on the pavement for about an hour

When the Radio Dialogue newscrew  arrived at the scene the man's body was still soaked in a pool of blood and at the time only one police officer was in attendance.

The policeman said the deceased had died 30 minutes prior to his arrival.

One passerby, Tsepo Mhlanga said the man was walking and slipped, fell and landed hard on his head.

"He started bleeding profusely. I tried to stop an ambulance that was passing by for assistance but it didn't. I then rushed to report the incident to some people in the vicinity who later called for an ambulance but this was too late," said Mhlanga who was visibly shaken.

Police and ambulance officials arrived at the scene after an hour and were seen covering the corpse before transferring it to a police coffin.