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Mashudu Mambo
IN a shocking display of violence, three men from Killarney Squatter Camp in Bulawayo ran amok, armed with logs, batons, and machetes and allegedly fatally attacked a man they accused of burning one of the residents’ shacks.
The victim, Nqhabutho Magama, was brutally assaulted by Moffat Sibanda, Ali Mlauzi and Tafadzwa Mudenda and succumbed to his injuries.
The trio have since appeared before Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Ngoni Nduna facing a charge of murder.
They pleaded not guilty to the charge and were further remanded in custody after the State failed to locate all the witnesses.
In a statement, one of the witnesses, Getrude Tshili, indicated that she was informed by an unidentified community member that her shack was on fire.
“I was at the village head’s residence when I heard that my shack was on fire. I rushed to the scene and found the roof collapsing.
“While I was assessing the damage, Sibanda and Melusi Moyo brought the deceased, accusing him of burning my shack. After a while, I saw Sibanda and Moyo taking the victim into a bushy area. I do not know what transpired in the bush,” she said.
Allegations are that on 26 May 2022, at around 10pm, the trio, along with Moyo who is still at large, went to the victim’s shack. They met the victim and his roommate, Lovemore Ndiweni, and ordered them to accompany them to Tshili’s shack, claiming that the now-deceased had burned Tshili’s shack.
After a few minutes at the shack, they took the victim to a bushy area where they allegedly assaulted him all over the body with booted feet, logs, batons and machetes.
After the assault, the deceased returned to his shack and went to sleep. The next day at around 9am, his condition deteriorated, and at around 4pm, he was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for treatment.
However, he died on June 4, 2022, as a result of the injuries he sustained. The matter was reported to the police, and investigations were carried out, leading to the arrest of the trio.
Online Reporter