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Businessman in court over ritual murder

by Staff reporter
18 Jul 2017 at 06:51hrs | Views
TWO Hurungwe men appeared at the Karoi Magistrates' Court yesterday over the suspected ritual murder of a 40-year-old woman last Friday.

Businessman, Robert Tazvireva (46) and a villager, Samuel Mashonga (20) were not asked to plead when they appeared before provincial magistrate, Samuel Chitumwa, who advised them to seek bail at the High Court.

They were remanded in custody till August 3, 2017.

Mashonga is alleged to have beheaded his sister, Dadirai, after being promised $4 000 by Tazvireva.

Tazvireva is a local businessman, who operates a bottle store and a general dealer shop at Zvipani Business Centre in Magunje.

The State alleges that on July 13, the accused hatched a plan to kill Dadirai and conduct some rituals to enhance Tazvireva's businesses.

The following day, Mashonga allegedly broke into his sleeping sister's bedroom hut and fatally stabbed her with a kitchen knife before hacking her head off with an adze.

Mashonga hid the knife and adze in a disused blair toilet and went to the business centre to give Tazvireva the severed head.

Tazvireva allegedly instructed Mashonga to put the deceased's head in his unregistered Toyota Camry parked behind the shop.

He later again instructed Mashonga to remove the deceased's head from the motor vehicle and hide it in a nearby bush about 80 metres from his shops, and the latter complied.
On the same day at around 6am, the deceased's mother, Keredia Mashonga discovered the offence.

She alerted her husband, who in turn reported the matter to the police, leading to their son's arrest after he was found wearing a blood-stained shirt.

On interrogation by villagers, Mashonga allegedly admitted the murder allegations and implicated Tazvireva.

Mashonga reportedly co-operated with the police and the deceased's head was found.

Admore Shekede prosecuted.


Source - chronicle