Teenager rapes, kills woman (53)

A 16-year-old boy from Beitbridge East allegedly attacked a 53-year-old woman from his village on Friday with a log, then raped her while she lay dying, bleeding from the head, and then stole R1 700.

Maria Gumbo later died and her remains were discovered lying in a pool of blood by her elder sister who then informed other villagers and the matter was reported to the police who took him into custody with help from villagers.

The boy allegedly committed the crime at around 7am. Police officer commanding Beitbridge district Chief Superintendent Tichaona Nyongo said the teenager was arrested on Sunday by villagers who handed him over to police.

"We managed to arrest him with the assistance of community members and from the stolen money, we recovered R1 540. The matter is now under investigation," said Chief Supt Nyongo.

Ms Gumbo's body has since been taken to Beitbridge District Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.

A source close to the case said Ms Gumbo had four deep cuts in the head and her body was found lying face down, some 500 metres from her homestead.

"The deceased was discovered lying in a pool of blood by her elder sister around 2pm along a footpath. The elder sister had left Gumbo around 7am when she proceeded to Dite dip tank with her herd of cattle and came back home at around 2pm," said the source.

Police recovered two blood-stained logs next to Ms Gumbo's body and there was evidence of some struggle 50 metres away from where the body was lying.

The incident comes a few weeks after a 75-year-old man from the Whunga area in Beitbridge West under Chief Tshitaudze reportedly went berserk at the height of an unknown dispute with his live-in partner Violet Ncube (57), and chopped her to death using a machete and an axe.

Sitoboli Maluko is said to have killed the woman, while his 16-year-old step son watched in shock. After committing the murder, Maluko hanged himself using a rope on a tree near the crime scene.