Job Sikhala Engages Ali Family For Burial Of Slain CCC Activist
Job Sikhala, a former Member of Parliament for the Zengeza West constituency, has said he is working with the Ali family to ensure a prompt burial for Moreblessing Ali, a CCC activist who was killed in 2022. Sikhala is the family’s lawyer, and they had decided not to bury Ali until Sikhala was released from prison. Sikhala had been imprisoned for inciting violence which erupted in Nyatsime during Ali’s funeral but was recently released when his sentence was suspended. In a statement seen by Pindula News, Sikhala says it is important to bring closure to the case. He said:
It’s sad that Moreblessing Ali is still not buried since my arrest. This issue needs to come to closure. I am engaging my clients, the Ali family, to make arrangements for her burial as soon as possible.
Ali was murdered by a man named Pius Mukandi, also known as Pius Jamba. He has been found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The exact reason for the murder is unknown, but the opposition party CCC claims that Ali was killed for opposing the ruling ZANU PF party.
Ali was kidnapped and killed sometime between May 24 and June 11, 2022. Her body, which was badly decomposed, was found in a well at the Chisango homestead in Nyatsime. It was discovered by Mukandi’s mother. At first, the Chisango family members were suspected, and the CCC claimed they were responsible for Ali’s abduction. A postmortem examination could not determine the cause of death, but a pathologist suggested that strangulation may have been the cause, and Ali’s body was dismembered after death.
Mukandi was arrested on June 16, 2022, while he was hiding in Chidamoyo, Hurungwe. He confessed to the police, showing them how he kidnapped, assaulted, and killed Ali. He also led them to the place where he dismembered her body and showed them the knife he allegedly used. Mukandi also helped the police recover Ali’s belongings, including her cellphone, jacket, trousers, shoes, and pants, which were presented as evidence in the case.
