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A Bulawayo man, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting his father, yesterday allegedly committed suicide at Barbourfields Police Station. The man, identified as Itai Mhishi (22) of R28 Mzilikazi, allegedly cut a blanket into strips and reportedly used it to hang himself. However, in an interview yesterday, his father, Mr Rodwell Mhishi (49) said he did not believe his son had killed himself.
“He was arrested on Sunday when he became violent and assaulted me for asking him why he had come home late. It is not the first time he has been violent,” said Mr Mhishi, whose right thumb was bandaged to cover an injury he said he sustained during the assault.
He said police officers at Barbourfields Police Station called him yesterday morning at about 8 am and said his son wanted to apologise.
“I told them I was at work and they should release him if he had seen the error of his ways. They insisted that I should come to the station. They said Itai wanted to apologise in front of the police officers. I therefore went to the station,” said Mr Mhishi.
He said on arrival, officers said they were sorry to let him know that his son was found hanging in his cell at about 6.30pm.
“He was already lying on the ground with a piece of blanket around his neck. They said he had used it to hang himself. I asked them why they had cut him down before my arrival and they could not give a satisfactory answer. When they showed me the cell where he is said to have committed suicide, I could not identify an area where someone could hang himself,” said Mr Mhishi.
He said if indeed his son had killed himself, he was angry that police officers had lied to him that he was alive and wanted to talk to him.
“I do not know what really happened, but I do not buy the suicide story. If you get arrested, police take away anything that you can use to harm yourself, including your belt and shoes. What did he use to cut the blanket? They say they last spoke to him at around 4.30am. This really sounds suspicious to me,” said Mr Mhishi.
He said the family was yet to make funeral arrangements because they were waiting for post-mortem results.
Contacted for comment, police spokesperson for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed the incident.
“We are handling a case where a suspect allegedly committed suicide at a police station,” said Insp Moyo.
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