Gokwe – A 25-year-old man from Gokwe tragically lost his life after intervening in an attempted rape, becoming the victim of a brutal attack by the perpetrators he sought to stop. The horrific incident unfolded in Headman Cheuchi’s village, within Chief Nenyunga’s area of Gokwe North.
The deceased has been identified as Tobias Cheuchi. His life was cut short after he confronted two men who were in the process of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl from the same village.
According to Midlands police spokesperson, Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko, the events leading to Cheuchi’s death began when two men, one identified as Ernest from Simuchembo 1 and another whose identity remains unknown, accosted the teenage girl. The pair allegedly informed her of their intentions to have sexual intercourse with her.
Inspector Mahoko detailed the sequence of events, stating, “The girl screamed as she was about to be raped by the two men in a field, which prompted the man to go and see what was happening. He arrived and found the two men forcefully holding the girl, and they released her when they saw that they had been spotted.”
Enraged by Cheuchi’s intervention, the two men turned their aggression towards him. They launched a vicious assault, using okapi knives to inflict multiple stab wounds. Cheuchi was stabbed seven times in the chest and abdomen, leaving him critically injured. The attackers immediately fled the scene, leaving Cheuchi to succumb to his injuries.
“The men fled, and Tobias Cheuchi was later found by his brother lying in a pool of blood, who then carried him to Nenyunga Clinic in an ox-drawn cart, but he died before they reached the clinic,” Inspector Mahoko explained. Despite the desperate efforts of his brother to get him medical attention, Cheuchi died en route to the clinic.
The police are now appealing to the public for assistance in apprehending the suspects. Inspector Mahoko urged, “They are appealing to the public for anyone with information about this case to assist the police with information on the whereabouts of the men so that they can be arrested.”
Authorities are calling on anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of Ernest from Simuchembo 1, or any information regarding the identity of the second suspect, to come forward and assist with the ongoing investigation. The police are determined to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice and are relying on the community’s help to do so.
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