Fear grips Tsholotsho

A decomposing body of a Tsholotsho man was found in a hut whose door was secured from outside with a piece of barbed wire. Villagers told The Chronicle they suspected Vimusovusi Ndlovu, 82, of Pumula Village under Chief Siphoso was murdered.

They said they were living in fear as the killer could strike again.

Paul Ncube, the headman of Mpilo line and some villagers allegedly found Ndlovu's body in his bedroom hut on Monday.

Ncube said the old man lived alone at the homestead whose owner resides in South Africa with his family.

"Ndlovu has been looking after that homestead for a while now. I discovered the body when I was moving around homesteads, calling people to come and assist at the construction of our local dam.

"Usually people tend to relax and need to be dragged from their homes to the dam site where we are working as a village," he said.

The headman who was with other villagers said when they got to Ndlovu's homestead, villagers were surprised to find his bedroom door tightly secured with barbed wire and a pair of pliers on the ground.

"A very bad smell of something decomposing was coming out of the room. We immediately became suspicious because it had been days since we last saw Ndlovu," said Ncube.

He said they broke down the door and were met with the horrific sight of maggots feasting on Ndlovu's body.

"The corpse was undressed and in an advanced state of decomposition," said Ncube.

He said they reported the matter to the police and the body was taken to Bulawayo for postmortem.

Ward 7 Councillor Eliot Nkomo said neighbours suspected the old man was killed.

He said he hoped police investigations would expose the killer so that they face justice.

Matabeleland North acting provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Eglon Nkala yesterday confirmed the incident.