Online Reporter
Temba Dube
A BULAWAYO family endured a 6-hour nightmare after a man’s body at their gate prevented them from leaving their home on Wednesday.
The incident that occurred in Gwabalanda, near J Temba shops has been the buzz around the suburb.
According to Wellington Mubengeranwa (50), one of his children opened the gate at around 6am, to go to work and saw the lifeless body of a stranger lying there.
Spooked beyond description, the girl staggered back into the house and notified others of the grizzly incident.
“The rest of the family stayed inside. Everyone was afraid to leave the house and go past the dead man,” he said.
Mubengeranwa said the family immediately called the police and alerted residents’ leaders.
When a news crew arrived at the scene around 11AM, he said it was frustrating that police had not yet collected the body because members of his family were “trapped inside and no one had gone to work.”
Residents had gathered at the scene and homicide detectives had scoured the scene for clues.
Some of the residents were tightly wrapped oversized coats to ward off the biting cold as they kept a vigil around the scene and kept a lookout for children, whom they redirected so that they would not see the body.
Clad in shorts, ankle boots and a dirty sweater, the body lay at the gate.
There were numerous marks around the body as if, in his last moments, the man had crawled around. It looked like he could have tried to seek help at the gate but his strength failed him.
Some residents told B-Metro they had seen the man drinking at the local pub around 7PM the previous night.
“He asked me where he could find kombis to Emakhandeni,” said resident who declined to be named. Gwabalanda Masingcwabane Association chairperson Moses Thwala, speaking at the scene said police had taken an inordinately long time to collect the body.
“It is taboo in our culture for a body to lie so long in the open where even children can see it,” he said.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the incident.
“The now deceased was wearing a brown pair of shorts, a black T-shirt, a black jacket and black boots. He had some bruises on the forehead, on both knees and appeared to be aged between 30 and 40 years. His body was conveyed to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) mortuary awaiting post-mortem,” she said.
“We appeal to members of the public with a missing relative matching the above description to contact ZRP Luveve on 0292 520 801-3 or visit any nearest police station or United Bulawayo Hospital Mortuary for body identification.”
“We appreciate members of the public in reporting matters as the police we advise members of the public to be patient as investigations start from the scene and other experts are called to gather evidence.”
