The ManicaPost
Senior Weekender Reporter
THE 26-YEAR-OLD Chikanga woman who reportedly committed suicide after an altercation with her husband was allegedly murdered by the husband who then feigned a suicide account to the police before fleeing, The Weekender has learnt.
Locadia Mashonganyika Gumbeze died last Sunday at House Number 2652, Chikanga Phase Two in Mutare after an altercation with her husband who was accusing her of infidelity.
The love card that caused the altercation between the couple.
A copy of the post mortem that was provided to this newspaper by Locadia’s relatives showed that the medical practitioner who conducted it could not establish the cause of death (indeterminate).
She was laid to rest at Dangamvura Cemetery last Wednesday and because of the strong conviction that their daughter was murdered and did not commit suicide, Locadia’s body was accorded decent funeral rites including a night spent at her Westlea home before burial.
Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa, confirmed on Monday that the husband, Edson Gumbeze is nowhere to be found, but police are yet to open a murder docket as they are still gathering evidence.
“Yes, Edson Gumbeze is nowhere to be found. We have not yet opened a murder docket because investigations are still in progress. We have sent viscera for forensic examination in Harare and we are still waiting for the outcome of the examination.
“The case will undergo inquest before we can treat it as a murder case. For now we are still treating it as a suicide case until all evidence suggesting that there could have been foul play is at hand,” said Insp Kakohwa.
However, the relatives of the deceased gave a different account of events, alleging that their daughter was actually murdered by her husband.
Her father, Claudius Mashonganyika, told this newspaper that there was absolutely no evidence of infidelity on the part of his daughter and it was only a result of the husband’s deep sense of insecurity.
“The story that was published by this newspaper was not factual and balanced at all. I guess this is the reason why people always complain that the media is full of lies, both private and public. The First Lady has always been complaining about the Press and I have seen it for myself that it is all lies.
“The truth of the matter is that my daughter was murdered and she did not commit suicide. The husband placed an empty packet of paracetamol pills beside her body and a water glass just to create the impression that she committed suicide. Even if one consumes 100 tablets of paracetamol they do not die. After all, why is he on the run if indeed he is innocent?
“We visited the scene and discovered that the house was in a mess with the carpet torn, a clear indication that my daughter was heavily assaulted before she died. The police officer who attended the scene actually did a shoddy job.
“Other people who reside at the same house confided in us that the volume of the radio was at full blast for about 30 minutes. We believe this was done so that they could not hear her crying as she was being assaulted.
He confirmed that the altercation that resulted into the death of his daughter emanated from a blank love card that the husband saw in their house and mistakenly suspected that it was meant for a boyfriend.
“For the record, this was a very, very abusive marriage but my daughter somehow concealed the abuse as women normally do. There was not even any reasonable evidence of infidelity on the part of my daughter but all I know is that the husband was now so insecure after he lost his job at Forbes Border Post.
“The blank love card that the husband discovered in the house, which was the source of their altercation, was not a Valentine Day present from or to a boyfriend as alleged. It was not addressed to anyone. We are convinced that it was meant to the husband himself. Even yourself, would you assault your wife simply because you have seen a blank love card in the house? What if it is meant for you?” he said.
