'Gold panner' brothers slit man's throat

TWO brothers allegedly fatally stabbed a man and slit his throat after he asked them why they had assaulted his sibling.

Joseph Dlamulo and Thandazani Dlamulo of Zhombe allegedly set upon Recent Nyandeni with okapi knives last Tuesday at Thombalanka Business Centre in Zhombe. Members of the neighbourhood watch committee arrested them and handed them over to police on the following day.

Nyandeni, according to witnesses, confronted Joseph and Thandazani at the shopping centre as they disembarked from a commuter omnibus. "He armed himself with a log. And demanded to know why they had assaulted his brother, Prosper," said a witness.

Recent, the witness added, charged towards them seeking revenge for his elder brother who had previously been assaulted by the suspects over issues motivated by illegal gold panning at Venice in Kadoma.

"Before Recent could use the log, Joseph stabbed him once in the back with an okapi knife and Thandazani stabbed him on the throat and slit open the neck," said the witness.

The witness said Recent, with blood gushing from his neck, collapsed and died on the spot. The body was ferried to Kwekwe Hospital mortuary for a post mortem. Members of the neighbourhood watch committee apprehended the pair on the spot and took them to Kwekwe Police Station.

Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko said police were investigating the killing. "I confirm that we received a murder case that occurred on Tuesday in Zhombe following a misunderstanding.

"Joseph and Thandazani were arrested and are in police custody. The police are investigating the matter. I appeal to members of the public to engage a third party to solve misunderstandings to avoid unnecessary loss of life," said Goko.