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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
THE late cross-dressing athletics cheat ‘Samukeliso’ Sithole’s killer-brother has been arrested in Bulawayo after being on the run for four days, following the gruesome murder of Sithole, real name Mduduzi Sibanda, on Tuesday night.
Sithole, 33, was stabbed on the collar bone with a screw driver by his elder brother, Kelvin Sibanda during a quarrel over a wardrobe at their family home in Sizinda suburb.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo could not be reached for comment yesterday but reliable police sources said Sibanda was picked up by police while drinking at a city bar on Saturday night. “Police had been hunting for Sibanda since Wednesday after he killed his brother. They received a tip off from neighbours and Sibanda was arrested while drinking at a local bar. I’m sure he’ll appear in court sometime this week,” said the source.
Sithole, who was not married, lived with his brother and sister-in-law at the time of his death.
Residents of Sizinda are still in shock over the tragic incident that saw Sithole breathing his last after being admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital at about 8PM on Tuesday.
The former Lancashire Steel Athletics Club runner represented Zimbabwe in international sporting events as a woman. The athlete, who was affectionately known as Samukeliso or Gamuchirai, left his fans in shock after it emerged that he was actually a man.
For years, he kept a female persona, wearing dresses and skirts and putting on make-up.
Sources at the hospital where he was admitted said Sithole was clad in three skin tights, apparently to hide his manhood. He was also wearing a bra stuffed with balls of cotton wool.
His mother, who declined to be named, confirmed to The Chronicle last week that Sithole was born a boy and she christened him Mduduzi. The multi-talented sportsperson competed at international events in disciplines such as tripple jump, javelin, shot-putt and running as a female.
He was, however, exposed as a cheat by fellow female athletes in 2005 resulting in him being imprisoned and was later released in 2007 for good behaviour.
His life of deceit reportedly started at Ndhamathuli Secondary School in Silobela in early 2004 when some teachers fraudulently acquired a birth certificate belonging to Samukeliso Sithole, a Form Four pupil at the school for him to use at competitions.
At the time of his death, Sithole had turned to football and was in the books of the Zimbabwe Women Football Super League side Burrow Jets. He was using the name Gamuchirai Getrude Sithole.
Jets director and coach Thembelani Dhliwayo and his female teammates got to know about his actual sex after his death.
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