BY SAMUEL NJINGA IN MASVINGO
In two separate drinking sprees, two people were murdered using knives. In the first incident that took place on Saturday, Ashleigh Musvosveri, aged 23, from Magwizi Farm in Mashava, was murdered by Alson Tafadzwa Zviyo (18), from Chief Madamombe in Chivi while they were having a drink at a nightclub in Balmain. Musvosveri was stabbed by a sharp object that left his intestines protruding following a scuffle that broke out after a certain woman arrived at the place where they were drinking.
Musvosveri was rushed to Masvingo Provincial Hospital soon after the calamity. He eventually died on the same day around 2200hrs. Zviyo, who had been on the run, was finally arrested by police at dawn on the following day.
In the second incident that occurred on Monday, Cashier Tsungai, a 25-year-old man from Farm Number 24 in Hippo Valley in Chiredzi, was murdered by a 31-year-old Emmanuel Masunda of Masunda Village in Chief Nhema in Zaka after the two had gone on a drinking spree. Police say that there was a misunderstanding between the two. Masunda is said to have left the place heading towards his home. He proceeded on somewhere far away from his homestead. Cashier is said to have followed Masunda to his home. Upon failing to get hold of Masunda it is said that he broke bottles of alcohol in Masunda’s yard. When Masunda got home, he found the pieces of the broken bottles in his yard. Furious, he tracked the now deceased, got him at one Tarugarira`s Homestead. Angry, he proceeded on to stab him with a knife on the left collar bone. Cashier died on the spot. Meanwhile, the body is awaiting autopsy by the Chiredzi District Hospital.
Concerned by the alarming rate of murder cases in the province, police are urging members of the public to seek mediation if they are unable to reach an agreement and are continuing to warn the public that it is a crime to carry deadly weapons or to kill. Masvingo police spokesperson Kudakwashe Dhewa sounded a warning.
“We keep on urging members of the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. The Police Service wishes to strongly advise members of the public against engaging in acts of vigilantism or attempting to take the law into their own hands. We understand that people can be frustrated. However, resorting to self-help or mob justice is unlawful, dangerous, and undermines the rule of law.
No individual has the right to impose punishment outside the legal system. The police are committed to responding swiftly and ensuring that justice is pursued through proper legal procedures,” said Dhewa.