On May 25, 2023, a Zimbabwean woman named Christine Yolanda Gumira was shot dead outside a courthouse in Cape Town, South Africa. According to ZimLive, Gumira, who was 30 years old and a mother-of-one, was a witness in the trial of a man who had killed her friend. In a video that has gone viral, Gumira can be seen walking on a street with two others before an unidentified person in a hoodie approaches her from behind and shoots her in the head.
Gumira’s family members claim that she had reported threats against her life to the police, but she was not provided with any protection. Her niece, Mollyn Matangambiri, expressed her disappointment with the South African state, stating that she believed they had failed Gumira.. Gumira’s niece Mollyn Matangambiri told ZimLive:
I strongly feel the South African state failed her. She told police that she was getting threats from the people that killed her friend, they told her that if she continued testifying they were going to kill her.
The South African police have arrested four suspects in connection with the killing. On Friday, Cape Town provincial police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie announced that a dedicated integrated team of detectives had conducted tracing operations that led to the arrest of the four suspects. Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said:
Investigations by a dedicated integrated team comprising detectives from the provincial office and Wynberg detectives has landed four suspects behind bars in connection with the murder.
The victim was [shot dead] after leaving the court building en route to the taxi rank. The investigation took the team to different locations within the Cape metropole, where they conducted tracing operations and arrested the four suspects after they were positively linked to the murder through investigation and forensic evidence.
Police also seized a silver Nissan Tiida as well as cellular phones that will be analysed.
The suspects were positively linked to the murder through investigation and forensic evidence. The suspects, aged between 24 and 33, are due to appear in court on Monday.
Gumira’s body will leave Cape Town on Monday for burial in Mhondoro Ngezi, Mashonaland West. According to Matangambiri, Gumira had planned to move to New Zealand to be with her boyfriend this month. However, she became a witness after her ex-roommate was shot and killed by her abusive boyfriend.
The killer, who was armed, threatened to shoot Gumira’s son if she did not take him to where her friend had moved. In fear, Gumira complied, and her friend was subsequently shot in front of her. She was threatened with death if she told the police or cooperated with law enforcement. The police convinced her to testify in the murder trial, but unfortunately, she was killed as a result.
The family of Christine Yolanda Gumira has requested assistance for her 13-year-old son, whose father is unemployed. Those willing to help can contact the boy’s aunt through direct calls at +263 77 112 6614 or WhatsApp at +44 7581 060144.