Residents of Pumula suburb in Bulawayo have reportedly found what is believed to be the murder weapon used to kill Khangelani Nkiwane on Sunday.
The victim was allegedly killed by her live-in boyfriend, Oscar Khumalo.
According to The Chronicle, the suspected murder weapon – a gun – was discovered in a bushy area by a resident, who then immediately notified the police.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson for Bulawayo Province, Inspector Abednico Ncube, has issued an appeal to members of the public.
He requested that anyone with information about the whereabouts of Oscar Khumalo should come forward and assist the ongoing police investigation. Said Insp. Ncube:
We are still looking for Khumalo and are appealing to members of the public to come forward should they have information about his whereabouts.
We would like to urge all men in Bulawayo to not resort to violence when solving disputes but rather to look for a third person to intervene.
Khumalo, who works as a security guard, allegedly shot Nkiwane three times around 5 PM on Sunday at the rented house they shared.
Khumalo is said to have used his work-issued pistol during the incident before fleeing the scene.
Nkiwane was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital but tragically succumbed to the injuries she sustained from the shooting.
Further details indicate that during the dispute, Nkiwane had initially managed to escape from Khumalo and locked herself in the landlord’s room.
However, Khumalo then allegedly moved to the window and shot her three times – once in the hand and twice in the back.
The landlady, Hoitsi Nkomo, provided a harrowing account, describing how the enraged Khumalo chased after a naked Nkiwane, intent on attacking her. She said:
I saw her running towards my room and initially, I thought she was running away from my vicious dogs.
But I then realised that she wasn’t running away from the dogs but Khumalo, who was brandishing a pistol while threatening to kill her.
She forced herself into my bedroom, half naked and my grandchildren were also in the room.
My grandchildren assisted in shutting out Khumalo and when we thought everything was now calm, he moved outside the house and went to my bedroom window where he opened fire, shooting her three times.
Nkomo said that as Khumalo made his escape from the scene, the neighbours promptly called the police.
An ambulance also arrived and rushed the critically injured Nkiwane to Mpilo Central Hospital.
Nkomo further stated that although Nkiwane was bleeding extensively, she was still in stable condition and able to communicate by the time she was transported to the hospital.
The spokesperson for the Nkiwane family, Albert Mhlanga, revealed that Khumalo had a history of abusive and violent behaviour towards the victim.
Mhlanga claimed that Khumalo had threatened to kill Nkiwane on several occasions before this tragic incident. He said:
Khumalo had been threatening to steal a gun and shoot our daughter for the past two weeks. He was a very jealous man and had even banned our daughter from attending church.
In fact, on the day of the dispute, I had talked to him about the issue and he promised that he wouldn’t be abusive anymore.
It was our wish as a family that our daughter left him, but she loved him, so we decided to let them be. I wish she had not ignored our advice.
More: Pindula News