Binga homicide victims named

THE Binga four homicide victims can today be named as Alvin Nyirenda, 28, Mthulisi Leon Ndlovu, 33, Nkosana Mdlongwa and Sithembinkosi Moyo.

The four were executed â€" believed shot with a high-powered rifle â€" in the early hours of Monday. Ndlovu had been decapitated.

The profiles of the victims reveal an odd mix â€" one was a mechanic, another a chef, a third lived in the United Kingdom and Dubai while the woman victim, Moyo, is known to have sold maize, and sometimes cattle.

Nyirenda â€" a mechanic at Puzzey and Payne â€" lived in Njube suburb in Bulawayo, Mdlongwa worked as a chef in Victoria Falls while Moyo was from Bulilima in Matabeleland South.

Fourth victim Ndlovu previously lived in Oxford, England, before relocating to Dubai and had over the last year spent a lot of time in Zimbabwe. His family lives in Bulawayo's Nkulumane suburb. Friends say he dated the former Big Brother Africa star, Maneta Mazanhi.
All four were found with gunshot wounds near the Ngongonye Bridge on Nkonkane River, some 15km from Manjolo Business Centre.

The bodies of Nyirenda and Moyo were found inside a white Isuzu pick-up truck registered to Mdlongwa, who is believed to have links to poaching syndicates. The truck had been pushed off the bridge, police investigators believe in a bid to fake an accident.

Mdlongwa's body was found nearby on the riverbed, while the body of Ndlovu â€" who was decapitated â€" was found some 1,5km away in a field.

Nyirenda's father, Alfred, told Chronicle yesterday that his son was a motor mechanic who recently completed his apprenticeship.

"I have no idea how my son ended up in Binga, shot and dumped in a vehicle suspected to belong to poachers. He is a qualified mechanic and as far as I know him, he never engaged himself in any business besides fixing and servicing vehicles," Nyirenda said.

He said police picked up a receipt from the scene of the incident showing that Alvin bought some motor spares a day before the alleged shooting.

"The same receipt was used to locate me. I have a feeling he was used to fix a car because there is no way he could have been involved in any illegal business that could possibly provoke the suspected murderers," said Nyirenda. He said he last saw his son in December 2013, adding that the family was contemplating burying him tomorrow.

"I stay in Hwange and Alvin used to stay in Bulawayo. I pray investigations go smoothly because my son did not deserve to die in this way," Nyirenda said.

Mdlongwa's sister, who asked not to be named, said her brother worked as a chef at a restaurant in Victoria Falls. On Facebook, there are pictures of him admiring elephants.

"My brother used to work and stay in Victoria Falls and I last saw him on December 26 in Kwekwe. He used to travel a lot and no-one is sure why he went to Binga and why he was brutally killed," she said.

"I inquired from his colleagues at work and they said he reported to work on Friday last week and they expected to see him on Monday, the day his body was discovered."

The four bodies have been taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) mortuary where a postmortem will be conducted before relatives can bury them.

Sources close to the investigation say Mdlongwa's shoes were picked up a few metres from where the car was found, suggesting that he may have been trying to escape when he was shot.

Mdlongwa is thought to have had three children, although he was single. He had a girlfriend in South Africa.

A friend to the late Ndlovu said he had a brief fling with Big Brother's Maneta.

"He was what I would call a dealer. He was up for anything, and he was never scared of a fight," said the friend.

Sources said Moyo was a well-known business woman believed to be a dealer who traded in different commodities including selling maize and cattle.