Neighbours attack 'cheating' wife over hubby's suicide

Sisasenkosi Chitonho (22) narrowly escaped being beaten up by vengeful neighbours yesterday after being implicated in her husband's suicide. The police had to shield her from an angry crowd that was baying for her blood, state controlled tabloid "H-Metro" reported on Wednesday.

Chitonho of Glen Norah, Harare almost received a thorough beating from residents in the neighbourhood who accused her of driving her husband Rangarirai Doma to commit suicide because of her alleged infidelity. When H-Metro arrived at the house tempers were at fever pitch.

"Rovai hure iroro! (Beat up that prostitute)," the angry crowd chanted heatedly. Chitonho was standing outside the house while her husband's body dangled inside.  She was trying to maintain a brave attitude in the face of the mob's wrath.  She vehemently denied being an infidel or cheating on her husband, "He beat me up yesterday and accused me of having affairs. Those are all lies," she said.
However, the neighbours were convinced otherwise. "She was having affairs without the husband's knowledge and when he found out he was devastated. "He reacted by beating her up badly," a source told this publication.

Chitonho is an airtime vendor while the late Rangarirai was a mukorokoza (gold panner) in Mutare. She confirmed the assault which precipitated the unfortunate incident. "Yes he beat me up because he accused me of having an affair with Jack. "Jack is my sister's (Dorothy Dube) boyfriend," she said.
Jack, as Chitonho put it, lives in Dzivarasekwa where Dorothy also resides.

"He was suspicious when he found the number and a text message in my phone but there was nothing going on between us," she added. Chitonho fled to her uncle's house where she sought refuge after the deceased had assaulted her in rage. The next morning she returned to Glen Norah headed for the police to make a follow up on the assault case that she had reported the previous day.

However, she was shocked to meet her fellow tenants on their way to the police to report her husband's death by hanging.  A distraught Chitonho said: "Rangarirai called me in the morning and told me that he was going to kill himself but I just thought he was bluffing. "But as a precaution, I called Mairosi who stays at the house to check on him and he found him alive," Chitonho said.

She was flabbergasted to realise that he had really meant it. Rangarirai is said to have left a suicide note which was testimony to his last minutes of anguish. It partly read: "Wangu mukadzi akahura. Zvandaifunga kuita zvatoramba. Ndinotenda vachabatsira parufu rwangu" (My wife cheated on me so I have given up on life. Many thanks to all those who will assist at my funeral.)

Ironically, Chitonho was wearing a black dress, a colour of mourning as if in premonition to the tragedy.
"Wakadii kuuya kuzondiudza kuti tete zvirikunetsa Chiona mwana wehanzvadzi yangu afa. Hona zvawaiita, (Why didn't you come to tell me that you were having problems. Now look at what you have done, my nephew is dead,)" a woman who was identified as Rangarirai's aunt wailed in anguish.  In his suicide note, Rangarirai instructed that his clothes be bequeathed to one Ishmael who is believed to be his brother. The couple were tenants at the Doma residence.