Woman in speed chase with 'ritual killers'

A HARARE woman was on Tuesday involved in a high-speed chase with a suspected ritual murderer who wanted to lure her friend's son into a car in Belvedere.

The boy was in the company of a colleague coming from school and waiting for his mother to pick them up when the incident occurred.

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau confirmed the incident and urged parents and guardians to warn their children about ritual murderers.

He said the ritual murderers were believed to be moving around schools targeting pupils without adult escort.

Insp Sabau said they were still investigating the Tuesday incident. No arrests have been made.

"We had an incident which occurred this week near a primary school in the city where two school boys were approached by a certain woman who was driving a Toyota Ipsum," he said.

He said the woman asked one of the boys to show her where she could find a water tap. "A few minutes later she asked the other boy to show her a road that leads to Avondale suburb after promising to give him money," Insp Sabau said.

The boy wanted to get into the car, but some gardeners who were monitoring the conversation restrained him.

"They asked him why he wanted to get into a car of a person he doesn't know," Insp Sabau said.

He said a few minutes later, the other boy's mother arrived at the scene to pick them up and was informed of the incident.

She drove and approached the suspect's vehicle, which was nearby, resulting in a high-speed chase.

"The mother tried to block the vehicle, but the suspect managed to escape. She took down the vehicle's registration number and made a report to the police. Parents should urge their children not to entertain strangers or even some of the relatives as they would end up being victims of ritual murders," Insp Sabau said.

He said parents should provide security for their school-going children because they are easy targets for the assailants when they are moving alone. Several children have been reported missing in suspected ritual murders during the past few months.

Others were found alive, while some like three-year-old Given Flint Matapure are still to be located.

Given went missing during the Harare Agricultural Show in August last year while he was in the company of his sister and their maid.

Police are still investigating the case.

Skeletal remains were discovered in some parts of the country in the past months.

In October last year, an 11-year-old boy who was reportedly kidnapped at a church service was found dumped along a river near his Chitungwiza home while naked.

Tapiwa Mboto was found two days later along a river near his home in Manyame Park, Chitungwiza.

In November last year, a Zimbabwe Agricultural Show Society worker discovered skeletal remains of a child while clearing a piece of land for farming inside the Exhibition Park.

Forensic examinations are being carried out to determine the cause of death and possible identity.

Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has since expressed concern with the increase in cases of children going missing countrywide in suspected ritual murder cases.

He said investigations showed some body parts were removed from the children for ritual purposes.