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MRS Tsvakai Mupapa, the headmistress of Mukomborenwa Secondary School in Chirumanzu, who on Tuesday last week was left for dead by robbers, cannot believe she lived to tell the tale.
Mrs Mupapa, a devout member of a Pentecostal church, yesterday relived her horrific experience to Chronicle.
She said she was attacked at around 5am while waiting for transport to Mvuma Town to submit Teacher Training Development questionnaires which she said were inside an old O-Level Zimsec envelope designed for carrying answer scripts.
She was not carrying O-Level answer scripts as reported in the Press but the Teacher Training Development questionnaires.
“On the fateful day, I boarded a lift from the school and alighted at Chaka Business Centre. I then reconnected to our farm about 2km away from the business centre to collect a formal shoe since I was going to my seniors’ offices in Mvuma,” said Mrs Mupapa. “After collecting the pair of shoes, I returned to the highway, intending to get transport and proceed with my journey to Mvuma. There is a distance of between 1.5km and 2km between the bus stop and the highway.
“While waiting for transport, I spotted two people, a man and a woman, approaching the bus stop, eating matamba (a wild fruit). They had two travelling bags with them, one of which was full of matamba.”
She said she did not suspect that they might be criminals.
“I did not suspect anything. They appeared to be a normal couple. We greeted each other and started discussing various issues. They told me they were going to Harare and claimed their home area was in Chivi,” said Mrs Mupapa.
“I then got distracted while working on my mobile phone. That is when the man literally flew at me and started assaulting me. He grabbed my neck and pulled me into the bush where he went on to attack me using a concrete brick and a stone. He assaulted me on the head. The whole thing happened in a flash. The woman was just standing watching while the man assaulted me. Initially I suspected that the man was mentally disturbed but when the woman later joined in the assault, I realised that the two were criminals. It is the woman who pinned me down by the neck while the man pulled my purse. The two then fled, taking the direction of our farm.”
She said she tried to scream for help but no one heard her because the farms are a distance apart.
Mrs Mupapa said she managed to get home and narrated her ordeal to her husband.
The husband in turn informed the police who attended to the scene.
Mrs Mupapa said she could not immediately establish the motive of the suspects in attacking her.
“I had $25 in my wallet and an additional $230 that was wrapped in a paper before I stashed it in the Zimsec envelope containing the Teacher Training Development questionnaires. The suspects only took $25 which was in my wallet. I suspect they failed to see the other $230. My husband recovered everything save for the $25 when he later made a follow-up. I also want to commend the police for reacting swiftly. They are the ones who took me to Mvuma District Hospital for treatment,” she said.
Online Reporter