Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Victoria Falls Reporter
VILLAGERS from Chief Shana’s area on the outskirts of Victoria Falls have been left reeling in shock following the tragic and deeply unsettling death of a seven-year-old boy, Elroy Farai Sigauke, under circumstances that remain unclear. The young boy is suspected to have taken his own life by hanging, before another child, also aged seven, reportedly cut the rope and laid his body on the veranda of their homestead.
According to an internal police memo seen by Zimpapers, the incident occurred on July 27 at Makololo Village 4.
“On 27 July 2025, at around 4pm, ZRP Jambezi received a case of Sudden Death in which the deceased, Elroy Farai Sigauke, a male juvenile aged seven residing at Austin Sigauke’s homestead, Makololo Village, Chief Shana, Jambezi, was found lying on the veranda lifeless,” the memo reads.
The memo further states that the deceased’s mother, Pamela Siyameja (29), and her husband, Austin Sigauke (50), had left home to attend a funeral, leaving Elroy and two other children—Tatenda Wedy (7) and Olinda Sigauke, aged one year and nine months — alone at home.
“The informant (Siyameja) returned at around 4pm and found the now deceased lying at the veranda lifeless. She made a report at ZRP Jambezi, who attended the scene and observed a fresh scar on the back of the head,” the memo continues.
Police interviewed Tatenda Wedy to establish what had transpired during the parents’ absence.
“He stated that the now deceased hanged himself with a cloth belt on the screen door of the tuck shop, some few metres from where the now deceased was lying. He also stated that he was the one who cut off the cloth belt with a knife and took him to the veranda,” the memo reads.
A blue cloth belt, cut into two pieces, was reportedly found on the screen door.
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the local community, with audio messages circulating in local WhatsApp groups expressing disbelief and suspicion.
“A tragedy has befallen us and we are failing to really understand what happened. We plead with the relevant authorities to help us really get to the bottom of this matter,” one message reads. Another adds, “The community needs answers to all this. We need to understand where the wound came from.”
Police sources have confirmed that investigations are ongoing, though the case is currently being treated as one of sudden death.
