Man kills brother over contour ridge, buries him in the field

A 37-old-man from Gokwe North allegedly killed his brother following a misunderstanding over a contour ridge and went on to bury him in a shallow grave in the field, police have said.

Police identified the deceased as Felex Masarakufa (50) of Dzvaka Village under Headman Goredema, Chief Chireya's area.

Acting police spokesperson for Midlands Assistant Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said the suspect, Kuwirirana Masarakufa (37) was in custody assisting the police in their efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the matter.

He said Felex is believed to have been killed on 9 August at about 6am, but his body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition was only discovered on Monday this week buried in a shallow grave in the suspect's field.

"The suspect and the now deceased were blood brothers. It is alleged that on the fateful day, at about 6am, Felex was asked by his younger brother, Kuwirirana to accompany him to his field where he wanted to show him a contour ridge that he had made. After about an hour, Kuwirirana returned home alone and reported that his brother had gone to Gokwe town after receiving a phone call from an undisclosed source. On the same day, Kuwirirana left for Harare," said Asst Insp Mahoko.

He said it appeared like the brothers had an argument whose nature was not known while at the fields.

The acting Midlands police spokesperson said a week later, the now deceased was still missing.

Felex's wife, who was away when her husband was lured away from home, became worried when she failed to trace his whereabouts.

She sought assistance from other villagers and they started searching for Felex as a missing person.

"On Monday, three brothers to both the now deceased Felex and the suspect Kuwirirana discovered a mound of sand at the edge of Kuwirirana's field. Flies were buzzing around the heap of sand and the brothers became suspicious. They removed the sand and in the process unearthed Felex Musarakufa's head. A report was made to the police who attended the scene and exhumed the body. The body was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo for a post-mortem," said Asst Insp Mahoko.

Police later traced the whereabouts of Kuwirirana and managed to establish that he was in Harare.

They picked him up for questioning and he is still in police custody assisting the police with their investigations.

"The murder case will be taken to court once the police complete their investigations. We take this opportunity once again to call upon all those who might have differences with their friends or relatives to make it a priority to always engage in dialogue. Murder is a crime that attracts a heavy penalty in Zimbabwe. One can spend life in prison or be sentenced to death," said Asst Insp Mahoko.