The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana, has warned the media against inadvertently making suspected murderer Jaison Muvevi a cult hero.
Mangwana was commenting on a tweet by a local tabloid showing pictures of Muvevi “in happier times”.
Mangwana said the media should be sensitive to the families of the people who were allegedly shot dead by Muvevi. He said:
I think the Media has to be careful about the way they are covering this story.
There is a risk of creating a celebrity or folk hero out of a possible cold-blooded, sociopathic killer.
There are families whose lives have been irreversibly damaged by his actions. Be sensitive to them.
Muvevi was arrested on Monday, 16 January for allegedly killing three people in Hwedza on 13 January.
His alleged victims were Chrispen Kanerusine (48) of Hwedza, Hwedza officer-in-charge Inspector Maxwell Hove (43) and 27-year-old Munashe Majani, who was a bartender at Ruzema Bottle Store, Mukamba Business Centre, Hwedza.
He has also been charged with the murder of Nyarai Round (33) of Domboshava.
Police are now investigating leads linking the ex-detective to six other murder cases that took place in and around Harare and Chitungwiza over the past three years.