Injiva kills wife's lover after finding him in his matrimonial bed with wife

A man staying in Bulawayo's Nkulumane suburb died after he was severely assaulted by an injiva and his accomplices who had found him in the injiva's matrimonial bed with his wife.

In an unrelated incident, a teacher from Gokwe North District committed suicide by hanging after he allegedly found a love message in his fiancee's cellphone.

Police identified the dead teacher as 25-year-old Nathan Gwaze, who worked at Mbovana Secondary School.

The incident occurs barely a week after another Gokwe North teacher, William Muzvidziwa (33), committed suicide by hanging after he allegedly caught his wife pants down with a public service official at a Gokwe North lodge.

In the Nkulumane incident, neighbours yesterday said the injiva, identified as Nobukhosi Ndlovu, came to his lodgings on Saturday night in the company of seven other people who are yet to be identified.

"He knocked on the door to the house and his wife Ms Ester Phiri (24), responded to the knock after she had heard a vehicle parking outside. He had pretended to be a malayitsha bringing goods and money from South Africa," said a neighbour who declined to be named.

The neighbour said Ms Phiri practically lived with her lover, Mr Tatenda Mahove (24), who was beaten to death.

"She had been living in the area for a month and we often saw her with Tatenda. She said he was her husband's younger brother. We did not suspect anything because they went to the same Pentecostal church in the city centre," said the neighbour.

Another neighbour said soon after Ms Phiri opened the door, Ndlovu, who seemed to be having information about what his wife was up to, slapped her across the face and made his way into the house and headed for the bedroom.

The neighbour said he found Ms Phiri's unsuspecting lover, Mr Mahove, sleeping in his matrimonial bed and started assaulting him.

"Ms Phiri, sensing danger, sneaked out of the house, with her maid and four-year-old child and ran away leaving Mr Mahove at the mercy of her husband. The other men who had remained outside the house also entered and joined Ndlovu in assaulting Mr Mahove, who was still in the bedroom," the neighbour said.

"They assaulted him for more than four hours until he lost consciousness. He did not make a sound, although the beating sounded brutal," said the neighbour.

Neighbours said they were all afraid to go into the house as they could hear Ms Phiri's husband shouting questions, punctuated by sounds of a vicious assault aimed at Mahove.

"He was asking; ‘Who are you? What are you doing with my wife, in my house on my bed?'" said one of the neighbours.

They said towards midnight, Ndlovu left the group still assaulting Mr Mahove and returned in a taxicab with his mother, aunt, his wife's mother, her grandmother and other relatives.

"They exchanged harsh words with Ndlovu's family accusing Ms Phiri's family of bringing a prostitute into their home. We all watched from a distance because no one dared to go near," said another neighbour.

They said the quarrelling families left Mr Mahove in the house and people who came in to see him could not assist him because it was at night.

Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed the incident and said police had since launched a manhunt for Ndlovu and his accomplices.

Insp Moyo said the police officers who attended the scene discovered that Mr Mahove had a cut on the left side of the head, a cut of the forehead, another cut on the left hand and he also had a swollen face.

"The body was ferried to United Bulawayo Hospitals mortuary where it now awaits a post-mortem.

"Ndlovu is believed to be employed in Johannesburg in South Africa and we are appealing for information on his whereabouts so that he can be brought to book," said the police spokesperson.

He urged members of the public to desist from taking the law into their own hands whatever the circumstances.

Meanwhile, Midlands police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said Gwaze committed suicide last week on Friday night at the school.

His fiancée, a clerk at the same school, has been identified as Ms Tsitsi Mubaiwa.

A relative to the now deceased said on the fateful day, Ms Mubaiwa, who was engaged to Gwaze, paid a routine visit to her boyfriend at his bachelor's cottage for a discussion.

The two were said to be staying at separate houses within the same school.

"While the two, who were intending to wed during the August school holidays, were discussing various issues, Gwaze, who was scrolling his fiancée's cellphone stumbled upon a love message," said the relative, who requested not to be named.

The relative said an argument later ensued between the two lovers over the strange love message resulting in Gwaze smashing Ms Mubaiwa's cellphone against the wall.

The relative said Gwaze later got out of the house leaving Ms Mubaiwa inside.

"Ms Mubaiwa remained in Gwaze's house while he went outside with everyone fully convinced that he was only trying to cool off," said the relative.

He said Ms Mubaiwa later went to her apartment late during the night before Gwaze returned.

Asst Insp Mahoko said Gwaze was later found hanging in his bedroom the following morning.

"Gwaze, who had initially gone out of his house, was found hanging from one of the roof trusses the following morning by some pupils who had gone to collect their exercise books. A report was made to the police who later attended to the scene," he said.

Asst Insp Mahoko appealed to members of the public to always seek advice from third parties whenever engaged in a misunderstanding.

"It is also wise to involve elders when trying to solve domestic disputes," he said.

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