Vimbayi Mahachi
Residents of Bulawayo’s sprawling Cowdray-Park Suburb have been left shell shocked because of murder and suicide that occurred around the area popularly known as Empompini.
Last Wednesday 7 December a man residing at Empompini area, Judge Evans Zinzombe (36) is alleged to have strangled to death, his wife Phelomina Mabika (32) over an undisclosed marital dispute.
Sources said the two were no longer sharing their martial bedroom.
Zinzombe was self employed and he ran a tuck shop in Empompini area whilst his wife was to be employed at TM Pick’n’Pay supermarket in Ascot low density suburb.
The demise of the couple was confirmed by Acting Police Spokesperson for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele.
Zim GBC News managed to get to the scene and found Zinzombe’s body still hanging from a roof truss of a makeshift shade of a church building.
The church premises are not fenced.
Scores of residents had gathered by the scene and many were angry at the fact that Zinzombe had chosen to hang himself in a church building.
Zinzombe’s body was discovered by witnesses around 5 am.
Mthulisi Nxumalo explained that he was awoken up by friends around 5 am as they called him to go and see a man who had hung himself in their neighborhood.
Clifford Chidembo Ndangowona was angered like many by the fact that this man had chosen to hang himself at a church.
“Dai ayenda kusango kumiti uko not ku church anonetsana nenyoka achisungana nenyoka ikoko!”
He should have gone to the bush and hung himself on a tree and fought with snakes there, not hang himself in a church.
A neighbor Mr. Dube who is Cowdray Park Suburb’s ‘Empompini’ residence representative stated that Zinzombe’s children a girl aged 12 and a boy aged 7 were eye witnesses to their mother’s death. He got information from them as they reported the matter to him and other residents.
On the 7th of December 2022 night Zinzombe who was no longer sleeping in the same bedroom with his wife sneaked into the children’s bedroom which was now shared by his wife and kids.
The little boy woke his sister who had dosed off as he sensed trouble. The girl woke up and both saw their father sit on top of their mother and immediately start strangling her with bare hands. In the process he threatened the children to remain silent as he said he would do to them what he was doing to their mother.
After the wife had died to the horror of the children, their berserk father repeatedly raped the corpse, before running away from the house and locking the children inside.
Ast. Insp. Msebele said the children had to sleep beside the lifeless body of their mother until morning. Oblivious to the fact that their mother was dead the children tried to wake her up to no avail. They then alerted neighbors who then reported the matter to the police.
The body was transported to the hospital for post mortem.
Zinzombe was on the run and however in the vicinity of his home as witnesses say he spent part of his Thursday 8 December at Cowdray Park Primary School were there was a ceremony to commission classroom blocks by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works July Moyo and Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu.
On Friday the 9th of December Zinzombe was found hanging on a wire on the roof truss of a church.
Zinzombe’s body was ferried to the mortuary around 11am on Friday.
A woman who only wanted to be identified as Sis B, stated that they were shocked by the matter.
“As women this is a lesson to us that when on any form of separation we must not share the same homestead with our spouses. If my partner wants to talk to me or see his children under such circumstances there should be a family go between or they should be accompanied by a family member,” she said.
Ast. Insp. Msebele urges people to resolve their issues amicably.
“If people are having issues they should involve elders, families, pastors or church leaders,” she said.
She also added that neighbors should be brothers keepers and report on behalf of their neighbors if they see anything amiss.
“Peace orders and protection orders are meant to help people who are having problems, thus people must utilise such to their advantage in order to curb unnecessary loss of lives in some instances,” she added.
An activist of Community Gender Based Violence and Community Rights Resource Person from the suburb, Sihle Sikhosana said that commemorations to mark GBV were held in the area to conscientise the residents on the effects of domestic violence.
“I encourage people to speak out since problems shared are problems solved. It seems the emotional turmoil that this man went through led to his demise.