The unfortunate sequence of events unfolded on a Wednesday morning when the now-deceased received US$20 in rent from a tenant named Taboka Ndlovu (22). Gift Mpofu then proceeded to use the money without the knowledge of his older brother Gibson.
The situation took a dark turn the next morning at around 3 am when a drunken Gibson returned home, awakening his younger brother. He demanded his share of the rent money, only to find out that Gift had already spent it. This revelation did not sit well with Gibson, leading to a violent confrontation where he punched his younger brother with his fists and beat him with a log.
Assistant Inspector Msebele provided details of the incident, stating,
“On 5 December 2023 at around 8 am, the deceased received US$20 for rentals from a tenant Taboka Ndlovu a male adult aged 22 years. The deceased then used the money without the knowledge of the accused person. On 6 December 2023 at around 3 am, the accused person came home drunk, awakened the now deceased and demanded his own share of money from the money which was paid by the tenant. The now deceased told him that he had already used the money and this did not go down well with the accused person who started assaulting the now deceased with fists and a log all over the body.”
A concerned neighbour, Albert Mpofu, heard the commotion and rushed to the now deceased’s room. He discovered Gibson assaulting his brother with a log, with Gift lying on the ground in distress. Albert shouted for help, prompting Gibson to flee the scene.
Albert then informed Kholwani Tshuma, a member of the neighbourhood watch committee, about the incident. Tshuma promptly called for an ambulance, which arrived at around 7 am. However, it was too late, as the paramedics discovered that the deceased was no longer breathing.
Tshuma and other committee members managed to apprehend Gibson who was hiding in a nearby bush. The matter was reported to the police in Western Commonage.
“ZRP Western Commonage, CID scenes of crime and CID Homicide attended the scene. They observed that the deceased was lying facing upwards and had a fractured left leg and bruises on the left hand. A 50cm log was recovered near the body,” she said.
The body was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem examination, while Gibson Mpofu remains detained at ZRP Western Commonage.
Source iHarare.com
