WATCH: Beatrice police accused of obstructing course of justice

Four murder suspects are walking free in Beatrice after police  reportedly dragged their feet in investigations and released the suspects from custody claiming there was no case against them.

The four suspects are Blessed Moyo, Tafadzwa Tsitsa, Oliver Marimo and another only known as Talent. They are accused of kidnapping and killing Andrew Chipepura in cold blood after accusing of being a nuisance in their neighbourhood.

A family member of  Chipepura who is now deceased after he was allegedly murdered by the four said, "We have captured 2 of the suspects who killed Andrew in Beatrice. They are Oliver & Tafadzwa (in green) however 2 other prime suspects remain at large. Beatrice police have dragged feet in apprehending the suspects, we have a strong suspicion that Detective Sgt Chiripano & Officer in Charge CID Masende are compromised. We managed to engage Chief Spt. Ngirazi stationed Marondera who promised to cooperate and ensure all accused persons are apprehended as soon as possible. We expect suspects to appear in court soon."

Details are that at a certain date in May 2022, the now deceased  Chipepura visited  Blessed, his friend at his house as they happened to be stone throw neighbours. He demanded something to eat and was given however a fight broke out between Andrew and Blessed and this happed in the presence of Tafadzwa Tsitsa. The 2 accused persons Tafadzwa and Blessed managed to overpower their victim and force marched him to their friend named Oliver Marimo.

Upon arrival at Oliver's house, they woke up Oliver who was already sleeping and told him that they had apprehended Andrew (now deceased) whom they said was causing them sleepless nights since he was in the habit of knocking at neighbours' houses in the wee hours at night.

The time was already 12 midnight when they woke up Oliver. Thereafter, they asked Oliver to accompany them to a nearby beer hall where they said they wanted to beat up the now deceased throughout the night. While they were on their way, Oliver said he noticed that the two accused persons Tafadwa and Blessed were heavily drunk and would seriously pose bodily harm to the now deceased if they started beating  him as planned. Oliver advised the now deceased to sneak away into the dark and escape when Tafadzwa and Blessed stopped along the way to relieve themselves. Upon noticing that Andrew had escaped, Tafadzwa and Blessed confronted Oliver asking him to explain but he said the now deceased had escaped.

Two or three days later, Andrew was found dead and dumped along a river in Beatrice. On the last day he was last seen, he was in the company of Blessed and Talent, another member of the Oliver, Tafadzwa and Blessed murder gang. While they were seen drinking opaque beer at a memorial ceremony together with the now deceased, Talent and Blessed said they had not seen him at the ceremony against witness testimonies who said they had seen them together during the night of the ceremony and early morning the next day.

There is also fear in the village where Andrew lived after police arrested and released Blessed and Talent with villagers fearing for their lives if they come forward to testify. However, information going rounds in the village show that at one moment, the now deceased Andrew was attacked with hoe handles by Blessed Moyo and Tafadzwa Tsitsa while at Wilbert Marimo's house and they threatened that they were going to kill the now deceased and throw him into Mupfure river. Wilbert  Marimo is Oliver's maternal uncle.

Police have in the recent days refused to apprehend the accused persons saying there was no direct evidence linking them to the offence. However, family lawyer appearing for the deceased's family Energy Mutodi said circumstantial evidence had proven a prima facie case existed and police must use the tactics they employed in Tapiwa Makore's case in extracting evidence from the accused. Investigations are continuing.

Follow the link below to watch the full confession video