Murder - herdboy bludgeons pal to death

A HERD BOY from Bulilima allegedly pounded his friend's head to a pulp with a knobkerrie and robbed the corpse of $80 from him.

Kholisani Nyathi reportedly killed Nqabutho Sibanda, 25, on Wednesday evening and dumped his body in a maize field at a farm where the two were employed.

The murder occurred at Plot 8 Kalanga Farm Figtree.

Their employer Ananias Khupe discovered Sibanda's body on Thursday morning after the two men did not report for duty.

Khupe told police he had just paid his two workers their monthly salary of $80 each.

He said he was not prepared for the sight of the Sibanda's flattened skull and the bloody room in which he seemed to have been killed.

"I paid them their wages and left them sitting by the fire on Wednesday evening and when I woke up in the morning they did not report back to the homestead and I decided to look for them in the fields," said Khupe.

"I went in the company of my wife and we reached an old shack which the two men used for shelter during the night. We noticed that there were blood stains on the floor and on the walls.

"We looked around and found Sibanda's body lying in blood in the fields. Nyathi was nowhere to be seen and his clothes were gone. Sibanda's room had been thoroughly searched and his money was nowhere to be found and some of his clothes were missing. These men rarely quarreled and they worked well together. We are confused why Nyathi would do such a thing," said Khupe.

Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Philani Ndebele confirmed the incident. He said police were still searching for Nyathi.