Man rapes, kills lover

HARARE - A jilted Glen Norah man, reportedly grisly ended his ex's life by striking her with a hoe for ending their relationship.

Collen Jamu, allegedly struck his lover, Mitchell Chipere, 21, in the head four times with a hoe before wrapping her in a blanket and stashing her body under the bed with suspicion rife that he had raped her.

The woman had no panties.

He went on to hide in her (Mitchell) mother's bedroom, under the bed before he was arrested.

"He might have raped her before killing her because she had no panties," said a source.

Blood was all over the room with speculation that a fight might have ensued before the attack.

Jamu went on to steal some property and clothes in the house, hiding the bag with the loot at a nearby house.

Sources told H Metro that Jamu claimed that he had spent a lot on Mitchell and he wanted her to reimburse all the money he used.

The deceased's mother told H Metro that Jamu exploited her absence and got into the house before the unfortunate incident.

"I went out to fetch water at a borehole, leaving Mitchell here. I had this strange feeling that something was wrong and I returned home.

"When I got here, together with my young daughter, I realised that the door was locked.

"I searched for her at a nearby college and at her friend's house but she was not there," she said.

The mother added, "I just thought of going to the police and I came across some police officers and took them into the yard.

"They used some screwdrivers to open the door and we found the whole house in a mess. I looked for her in all the rooms but she was not there.

"A police officer then lifted the mattress and we discovered the blanket under the bed. I could not look at her lifeless body," she said.

The mother said they went into her bedroom and again, there was disorder.

"My bedroom was upside down and we found him under the bed. Acheka saga repasi, pabase akahwanda," she said.

She told H Metro that her daughter and now murder suspect Jamu, were in a relationship and her daughter fell pregnant but the child died. This reportedly marked the end of the relationship.

"They had a relationship and she fell pregnant. He took her and left her at his rural home.

"She then returned home and told me that she no longer wanted the relationship. She then enrolled back in school and I paid for her November 2015 examination fees,' she said.

It is said that Mitchell decided to end the relationship to pursue her academic career and some sources said she was now seeing another man.

It is said that Jamu was so protective that he would confront anyone whom he heard was dating Mitchell.

A close relative of his, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was not happy with Mitchell ending the relationship.

The relative said the two were so in love that Jamu would visit her at her residence at any time before she decided to end the relationship.

"He would visit her at her residence at any time. I'm told that she was ending the relationship and he was not happy and started demanding his dues back," said the relative.

Residents gathered around the house with police details from CID Homicide also in attendance to monitor the scene.

Several unconfirmed rumours circulated, pointing to Jamu's drug abuse tendencies.