The Sunday Mail
Forty-six people have been murdered since the beginning of 2017, with passion killings accounting for 75 percent of the cases, statistics show.
February — the month of love — has already registered two recorded pasison killings. Police national spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba told The Sunday Mail that infidelity, jealousy, poverty, unequal power relations and drug abuse were major causes of murders.
“A fortnight ago, a female adult was found lying in a pool of blood in a bushy area near Helvetia New Stands, Borrowdale Stable, Harare. Investigations revealed that the woman’s 32-year-old boyfriend had committed the crime. On February 3, a 21-year-old female from Maphampha Village, Zezani was found dead in the bush. She was last seen being assaulted by her boyfriend who then ran away after committing the crime.
“A joint survey by Sadc countries to analyse the nature and extent of crimes of passion in the region indicates that, in general: the majority of passion killings occur between a husband and wife; passion killings are a result of infidelity, jealousy, poverty, unequal power relations, drug abuse and cultural beliefs; and the 31-35 years age group is mostly involved in passion killing and most perpetrators are men.
“The research has been vindicated in our country where 40 murder cases were recorded in January 2017 alone and six in the first week of February 2017.”
Snr Asst Comm Charamba also said, “In a case not related to crimes of passion, a 28-year-old man was shot dead by his friend in a bushy area between Queenspark East and Glengary, Bulawayo on January 29, 2017. After shooting his friend, the accused person put the body in the boot of his vehicle and later buried it in a shallow grave at Plot Number 13 Westmount Road, Burnside. “In Kusena Village, Mutare the bullet-riddled body of a 32-year-old man was found 20 metres away from his homestead on February 2.”
