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inspection of a partially obscured and floating object that is emitting a pungent smell while motionlessly stuck in the green reeds.
After a couple of minutes, both banks of Mucheke River are teeming with curious and stunned onlookers scrambling to take a glimpse of what turns out to be a human body that is floating in the water and on the verge of decomposition.
One striking thing that further stuns the hordes of onlookers is the fact that some body parts, most notably the nose and tongue, have been cut off together with one of the eyes that has been disgorged.
Further examination by police, reveals that even the private parts have been dismembered.
That was one wintry afternoon in June 2011, when the body of nine-year-old Isheanopa Gumbo from Mucheke suburb was found floating in the Mucheke River.
The boy had mysteriously vanished from his home a few of days before.
The mysterious death of the boy left the people of Masvingo in a state of shock as ritual murders had largely remained a peripheral threat divorced from the city residents’ everyday life.
With the sand in Masvingo still wet from Isheanopa’s blood following his mysterious death, the residents were again made to contend with the horror of discovering the mutilated body of Lloyd Chingandiwa (26) of Rujeko suburb.
His body was also found in an advanced stage of decomposition, again on the banks of Mucheke River.
Like Isheanopa’s corpse, Lloyd’s lips and ears had been chopped off in a manner reminiscent of Hollywood’s horror movies.
When 19-month-old Nokhuthula Rwaibva of Majange suburb disappeared on Christmas Day last year, the fires of apprehension and disgust over the callous ending of human life for ritual purposes exploded into a bonfire that torched the entire city of Masvingo.
This sparked a protracted soul-searching among anxious residents who seemed to be begging the heavens over the motivation of these murders.
Two months into the New Year, the sad and horrendous memories dating back to last year are still etched in the minds of many in the country’s oldest town.
Masvingo is still battling to find answers for the mysterious deaths and decipher what might have precipitated the plague of ritual murders sweeping through the city today.
However, many residents believe the city is at the receiving end of greedy and heartless individuals who are killing innocent souls in pursuit of enhancing their riches through the use of rituals and black magic.
A Mucheke resident, Terrence Muchacha, said the scourge of ritual murders was now of major concern to the people in the town.
Mr Muchacha said there was need for a multi-sectoral approach to curb this scourge.
What is sad is that the criminals are targeting innocent children whose blood is being spilled to enhance business fortunes.
“There is real need for a multi-sectoral approach by all the stakeholders in the city. The stakeholders should put their heads together and find solutions to cases where people, especially children, disappear and are murdered before some of their body parts are mutilated.
“This is pure evil and it must be stopped in its tracks. There should be no more killings for ritual purposes. People should know that the only way to get rich is through hard work and sweat,” fumed Mr Muchacha.
Masvingo city, previously reputed for its serenity and tranquillity, was fast losing its lustre because of ritual murders.
Another city resident, Mr Israel Kandemiri from Yeukai suburb, said the threat of ritual murders in Masvingo city should be dealt with to protect children.
“The lives our children are in danger.
“The number of mentally-challenged people and children living on the streets has dwindled and I strongly suspect that they might have fallen prey to ritual murders,” said Mr Kandemiri.
Last month, children from across the country’s oldest town staged a peaceful demonstration against the murders. They were demanding society to respect their right and sanctity to life.
Masvingo police spokesman Inspector Tineyi Matake played down the issue of ritual murders and said the buzz over the vice was mere speculation.
Inspector Matake said police were still investigating to establish whether or not some of the mysterious deaths that hit the city were a result of ritual murders.
“I think the issue is being exaggerated because there has not been any tangible proof pointing to ritual murders.
“As police, we are still investigating the murders and so far none of our findings have showed that some of those deaths have been linked to ritual murders,” said Insp Matake.
He added that all the mysterious death cases involving mainly children that were reported in Masvingo city last year were simply being treated as murder cases and not ritual murders as many would want to believe.
However, the head of Masvingo Inter-Denominational Christian Fellowship, Reverend Sony Chimbuya, decried the rampant murder cases and blamed the country’s oldest town’s proximity to neighbouring South Africa where ritual practices and use of black magic was quite rife.
“It seems like the city is close to South Africa while also being located along the main highway linking that country with Zimbabwe.
“Our city is prone to adopting some cultural practices like the use of ritual murders to enhance wealth like what happens in South Africa.
“Our young people have been increasingly turning to South Africa for economic salvation over the past decade and in the process, they are also borrowing cultural practices which are taboo here and every where else,” said Reverend Chimbuya.
He admonished young people against wanting to get rich quickly saying such a mindset compelled them to take short cuts to become wealthy.
Masvingo Mayor Alderman Femius Chakabuda said the city fathers were concerned about the threat of ritual murders.
“We are very concerned about ritual murders which have shaken our city over the past few months.
“As city fathers, our only prescription is that parents be on the look out and pay particular attention to their children,’ he said.
Alderman Chakabuda also blamed the influence of South Africa.
“Ritual murders are an entirely new phenomenon in Masvingo but I think the whole surge in the number of ritual murders in our city should be blamed on South African influence where most of our people now frequent in search of economic opportunities.
“There is a reported underworld trade in human body parts for ritual purposes in South Africa. This could be the reason why some of our people are now turning to ritual murders in search of fortune,” he said.
While Masvingo residents think about what might have become of the once serene and peaceful city, the ghost of ritual murders is still hovering in the air of the once peaceful town.
Online Reporter