adminassailant who waylaid her along a foot path in a resettlement area in Chivhu last week.
The girl, Angela Murivamwe of North Strathassque Resettlement in Chivhu, was raped and strangled to death in a bushy area. Her lifeless body was found some 30 metres from her homestead.
A neighbour has since been arrested in connection with the murder and investigations are still in progress.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning last week as the girl was on her way to school.
The gruesome murder has left villagers engulfed in fear and parents are now accompanying their children to school.
Officer-in-charge at Chivhu Police Station Inspector Godfrey Mapuranga confirmed the case saying investigations were underway.
“We received a report of the raping and strangulation of the nine-year-old girl on Wednesday. One suspect has been picked up and investigations are still underway,” said Inspector Mapuranga.
The incident occurred when the girl’s mother Ms Tsitsi Makaudze was about to go for work at a nearby farm.
According to police the girl took her books heading towards Shingirirayi Primary School, some 300 metres away when she bumped into the man who was waylaying her. She screamed for help and her mother rushed to the scene but could not rescue her daughter as she was threatened with death. Ms Makaudze reportedly rushed to a neighbour’s place where she asked for help.
However, by the time they got to the scene the man had already disappeared and the girl’s corpse was lying naked in the grass. Ms Makaudze, who was still uncontrollably sobbing, told The Herald at the weekend that she actually saw the man and recognised him. The suspect, she said, once worked with her at a nearby plot.
“When I tried to save my child, the man shouted at me and threatened to kill me if I drew any closer to him. I then cried for help and neighbours responded and when we went to the scene, my child was already dead. I am sure the person is one I once worked with at Nangatidza’s plot. He was arrested and I am sure he wanted to fix me because we had some fights. He once attempted to rape me and I was saved by my daughter, the one he killed,” she said. – CR.
My daughter picked up a hoe and attempted to strike him and that is when he stopped his rape attempts and focused his attention on the girl,” she said.
Although other villagers could not state as a fact that the arrested man was the killer, they confirmed the previous squabbles between Ms Makaudze and the man.
A woman who spoke on condition of anonymity suggested that Ms Makaudze should also be questioned in connection with the murder.
“Police have arrested the man, but I feel the girl’s mother should also be quizzed over the issue. Her statements are suspicious and we have heard conflicting versions from her.
“How could a mother prefer to save her own life by running away leaving her daughter in the hands of a murderer?” said the woman.
Ms Yeukai Maguraushe said the culprit should be someone known to the girl and he killed her to conceal evidence.
“I feel the killer is someone known to both the girl and the mother and even if the mother tried to save her daughter she could have been killed as well.
“The mother actually saved her life by running away because she had recognised the man,” said Ms Maguraushe.
Shingirirayi Primary School’s Development Committee chairperson Mr Salisio Kechemu assisted in reporting the case to the police.
He said police reacted swiftly and 11 details with three dogs were deployed.
“The police responded very well and they came in their numbers to investigate the case,” he said.
He said the community was no longer safe and villagers would only feel safe once the real culprit is arrested.
“We are now living in fear and we cannot even send our children to school or to herd cattle alone. Since that incident, most people are now personally taking their children to school. We are actually leaving our work in the fields to make sure the children get to school and get back home safely daily since the incident,” he said.
Online Reporter