A 46-year-old man died in hospital after being assaulted at a homestead in Shurugwi, where police say he had spent the night with a married girlfriend while her husband was away.
Anyway Zhuwawo was allegedly attacked at Dendere homestead in Dendere Village, under Chief Banga, at about 10pm on 11 October. The assault left him with head injuries and a broken ankle. Police say he later died while receiving treatment at Shurugwi District Hospital.
Zhuwawo came from Mapfumo Village, under Chief Negomo in Murehwa. The man police are seeking, Moreblessing Dendere, is the husband of Kuitakwashe Musaigwa, with whom Zhuwawo had reportedly spent the night.
Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said the husband had been visiting Mutare and returned home without telling his wife. He said Dendere found the pair asleep in the bedroom and attacked Zhuwawo.
“It is alleged that the now deceased Anyway Zhuwawo had put up for the night at his girlfriend Kuitakwashe Musaigwa’s place while her husband Moreblessing Dendere was away on a visit to Mutare.
“The husband returned without communicating with the wife and found the two sleeping in the bedroom, where he beat Zhuwawo heavily.” said Mahoko.
Dendere allegedly used an unidentified blunt object, striking Zhuwawo across the body. The source of the weapon was not described. After the assault, Zhuwawo reportedly got away from the homestead and walked to his own residence while naked and seriously injured.
He did not receive medical attention at the scene. He was taken to Gamwa Clinic the following day, 12 October, and later transferred to Shurugwi District Hospital as his condition worsened. He died while admitted. Police received a report of his death at Tongogara Police Station on 15 October at about 10am.
Mahoko said investigations were continuing and police wanted to establish Dendere’s whereabouts. He appealed for information that could help locate him.
“We are keen to hear his side of the story on the allegations of murder, which he now faces,” he said.
The incident follows other fatal attacks in Zimbabwe in which people were killed after being found with, or confronted over, a married person. In each case, the reported circumstances and the people involved were different.
In Headlands, Manicaland, Dennis Blessing Matimba, 32, died in September 2021 after he was found at the homestead of his married partner, Talent Saunyama. Her husband, Peter Kunyongana, had become suspicious after seeing intimate messages on her phone and arranged to return home unexpectedly. The couple had been working in their garden when Kunyongana noticed Saunyama repeatedly checking her phone.
When she left it behind briefly, he read messages between her and Matimba. Kunyongana told her he was going to visit his parents and would spend the night there, but instead hid in a tobacco barn in the field. Matimba arrived for an overnight visit and was in a kitchen hut when Kunyongana knocked at the door. The pair did not open it, so Kunyongana broke in. A struggle followed, and Matimba escaped naked, but collapsed about 100 metres from the homestead. His body was found the next morning. Police arrested Kunyongana, who was later charged with murder and released on bail.
Another fatal case was reported in Mvuma in 2021. Simangaliso Honde returned unexpectedly to his home in Central Estate and found Munyaradzi Mugwagwa with his wife. Honde had told his wife he was going to Masvingo and would return the next day, but came back at about 9pm. After a confrontation, he struck Mugwagwa on the head with a wooden log. Mugwagwa tried to flee, but Honde caught up with him and assaulted him again. He was taken to Mvuma District Hospital and then transferred to Gweru Provincial Hospital, where he died.
A 2022 killing in Silobela involved a different sequence of events. Trymore Sibanda confronted Mthandazo Sibindi over an alleged affair with Sibanda’s wife. Sibindi allegedly shot Sibanda. Police said Sibindi was arrested and appeared before the Kwekwe Magistrates’ Court, where he was remanded in custody.
In another case that year, in Zengeza 3, Chitungwiza, a husband suspected his wife of having an affair after finding romantic messages on her phone. He allegedly replied to the messages while pretending to be his wife, then used the phone to invite the other man to the house. The victim arrived at about 7pm on 29 November. He entered the house and met the woman, before her husband came inside and stabbed him in the neck with a kitchen knife. The man died at the scene. The suspect left with his wife, leaving the victim in the house. Police initially sought the husband, who was later brought before a Harare magistrate and remanded in custody.
In Shurugwi, the known account begins with an unexpected return home and ends with Zhuwawo’s death in hospital days later. Police have asked anyone with information about Dendere’s whereabouts to contact them as their investigation continues.