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Court Reporter
Three men appeared in court yesterday on allegations of fatally stabbing another man on Boxing Day evening in Harare’s Avenues in a dispute over the change for US$1.
The men were turned in to the police by the Marlborough prophet from where they had sought cleansing.
Sala Kudzanai Chundundundu, John Chiutara and Tinotenda Zemba appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court charged with murder. They were not asked to plead when they appeared before magistrate Mrs Evelyn Mashavirakure.
The three are suspected to have killed Tobias Mwanyenya at the corner of Sam Nujoma Street and Leonid Brezhnev Avenue (formerly Fife Avenue) at around 9pm.
They were later apprehended in Marlborough, Harare, as they were allegedly seeking to be cleansed by a prophet. It is alleged that the prophet told the three that he could not assist them since they had “blood on their hands”.
While pretending to seek a solution and so keeping the three with him, the prophet secretly alerted police who reacted swiftly and arrested the three.
It is suspected that three are artisanal miners, believed to have been on their way to Jumbo Mine in Mazowe.
Allegations are that the three bought some cigarettes and bananas from the now deceased Mwanyenya using a US$1 note. An argument arose after they were given $200 local currency as change, which the three thought was too little. The commotion resulted in Mwanyenya being fatally stabbed.
The body was taken to a mortuary on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday morning, Mwanyenya’s family members went to where he was killed to clean up the blood stains.
An uncle, Mr Moses Matiyase, said Mwanyenya was a humble and hardworking man who had been working in Harare’s Avenues for eight years.
Mr Sydney Biton, a friend to the deceased, said: “Tobie (as he was commonly known) was a good friend and he never fought with anyone. Usually he would go for music shows for entertainment and come back to his usual place to work.”
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter