Violent death in Emganwini

AN unidentified man, who appeared to have been brutally assaulted was found dead in front of a house in Emganwini suburb in Bulawayo yesterday morning, ratcheting up distress in a community that says it is now living in fear due to an escalation of muggings and break-ins.

The man, who witnesses estimated was in his early 30s, was found at around 6am by a resident who said he was alerted by an early visitor that there was a corpse outside his gate. The assault on the victim seemed to have started elsewhere, as he had left a trail of blood that stretched a distance away from where he appeared to have finally passed away.

Bulawayo police spokesman Inspector Abednico Ncube was not reachable but when Sunday News visited the scene yesterday, residents described what they believe to have been a particularly violent death as a "slaughter". There was a pool of blood where the man appeared to have finally collapsed, while two stones with which his head seemed to have been smashed with still having a few strands of his hair.

The owner of the house in front of which the body was found, Mr Bakhile Ncube, said they did not hear any sounds or movements that indicated that someone was being assaulted.

"We heard nothing. For us it was just another normal night. I was surprised when a friend that had come to collect a trailer at my place told me that there was a body in front of my yard," he said.

The chairperson for the residents association in the area, Mr Dickson Munkuli, said the victim did not appear to be a resident in the neighbourhood.

"So far no one has come forward to claim him. What made it particularly hard to identify him is that he did not have any identity documents on him. Perhaps the police will find something when they search further. We sent a message to community WhatsApp groups telling people that if they have a relative who is a young male and did not make it home last night, they should notify us but so far we have not received any feedback," he said.

According to Mr Munkuli, even the guard at Senzangakhona Primary School, a stone's throw away from where the incident seems to have taken place, said he did not witness anything out of the ordinary throughout the night.

"This is what is puzzling because the school has a guard and the incident happened very near the school gate. If someone is being assaulted you expect either the residents or the guard to have heard at least something," he said.

Mr Munkuli said robberies, muggings and break-ins were now a common occurrence in the suburb.

"I got a message about this incident when I was attending the issue of a pastor who was a victim of a break-in during the night. We had a few separate robberies and muggings today only and I have been told someone was axed and is in a very critical condition. We would like to see a situation to what we had in the 1990s where the ZRP Support Unit patrolled the area which at least could put some fear in these criminals," he said.