Man denied sex, savagely axes wife to death

A HWANGE man ran amok and savagely axed his wife to death as the couple's horrified children watched, police confirmed yesterday.

Lyton Muleya, 39, of Kasibo area in Hwange is on the run after allegedly killing his wife for refusing to sleep with him. A man was arrested yesterday in connection with the case, but he was released after it was discovered during an identification parade that he was not the murder suspect.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson Inspector Siphiwe Makonese said: "We've launched a manhunt for the suspect and no arrest has been made so far, but for more information contact our national spokesperson Superintendent Paul Nyathi." Efforts to contact Supt Nyathi were fruitless yesterday.

Muleya, family sources said, was irked by a decision by his wife, Louisa Miti, 37, to sleep in their children's bedroom hut. He struck her with an axe on the left cheek in front of her screaming children. Sources said on Thursday at around 9:45PM, the couple retired to bed and had a misunderstanding over infidelity allegations.

Miti then opted to sleep with her two daughters aged 11 and seven in their bedroom hut. "Muleya followed her to his daughters' bedroom where he punched and slapped her. "He struck her once with the axe before she fled towards her parents' homestead, about 100 metres away," said the source.

"Muleya who was in hot pursuit caught up with her and axed her on her back before feverishly attacking her with the weapon all over the body." Muleya, added the source, took a breather and Miti tried to drag herself to her parents' homestead. "He brought her down with another blow using the axe. Her right hand was severed as she tried to block another blow to her neck before crawling to her parents' homestead too weak to run or walk," said the source.

Police sources said indications were that Muleya finished off Miti as she was about to enter her parents' homestead by striking her on the back of the head. They said there was a trail of blood from Muleya's homestead to the home of Miti's parents.

"He fled after committing the heinous crime. Some villagers together with the deceased's mother who had heard the screams arrived at the scene as Miti breathed her last," said the source. Villagers told The Chronicle they heard Miti screaming for help but ignored her because "Muleya is a huge man known for his ferocious temper and violent nature."

The body was taken to Victoria Falls Hospital mortuary for a postmortem. The murder comes barely a week after a Dete man fatally stabbed his wife over a WhatsApp message.