Cheating man strangles wife to death, hides body under bed

A 25-year-old man from Zvishavane allegedly killed his 21-year-old wife after she confronted him over his cheating escapades before committing suicide by hanging.

The incident occurred on Monday when Cosam Matenda of Matenda village under Chief Masunda allegedly strangled his wife Privilege Matsveru and hid her body under the bed before committing suicide.

Acting Midlands police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the incident which occurred at about 4pm.

"I can confirm that we discovered two bodies of a husband and wife in Matenda village under Chief Masunda in Zvishavane.

The woman was found dead in the couple's bedroom hut while the man was found hanging on a tree a few metres from their homestead. The couple left behind a three-month-old baby which was found alone in the house besides her mother's body.

We are still investigating the matter and keeping our minds open. We are calling upon anyone with information regarding circumstances surrounding the two's death to come forth," she said.

A relative who spoke on condition of anonymity told Sunday News that Matenda was having an extra-marital affair since the time her wife gave birth. The relative said the two had a fight on Saturday night over the issue.

"Matenda was having an extra-marital affair and the wife discovered it. When she confronted him that is when a heated argument ensued. It is alleged that he strangled her following the argument. Matenda then hid the body under the bed before hanging himself on a tree which is a few metres from his homestead," said the relative.

There was drama at Matenda's homestead when Matsveru's relatives allegedly demanded more than 10 cattle as compensation before they could bury their relative. Chief Masunda had to intervene to restore sanity and engaged the two families to resolve their disputes after the burial. The traditional leader said Matsveru's relatives were demanding cattle as compensation for their daughter from the Matenda family following the incident.

"I am at the funeral as we speak. Matsveru's relatives were demanding a lot of cattle as compensation for their daughter. I then advised them that it was against the law to refuse to bury their relative. I engaged both families so that they would bury their relatives first and later resolve their issues. What happened is Matenda killed his wife before committing suicide. He first hid the body under the bed together with their three-month-old daughter. The bodies were discovered by Matenda's mother who passed by and discovered that her son had committed suicide before discovering the wife's body under the bed," he said.