The Sunday Mail
SOLE SURVIVOR….. . The only victim to survive the Domboshava muggings Paddington Zhakata, tries to explain, unsuccessfully, what happened the night three robbers attackeed and tried to kill him.
The exploits of Stephen Chidhumo, Elias Chauke and Edmund Masendeke provide sumptuous urban folklore.
In the 1990s, the trio instilled fear in many people as they embarked on spate of gruesome murders and armed robberies around Zimbabwe.
Their most notorious act was the November 1995 Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison jailbreak, after which they resumed their crime spree.
Upon being re-arrested, Chidhumo, Chauke and Masendeke were tagged “unfit and dangerous to be in society”, sentenced to death, and hanged in 2003.
The fear induced by the three robbers can be equated to the trepidation the phrases “night of long knives” and “Operation Hummingbird” brought to witnesses of the political murders orchestrated by Adolf Hitler in Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934.
In three days, the purge claimed at least 85 lives, mainly of leading figures in the left wing Strasserism.
Agatha Muringani, the first wife of Clemence Masawi points to where she found the dead body of her late husband
But for villagers in the Chinamhora area of Domboshava in Mashonaland Central, the sum of such dastardly acts cannot compare to grisly murders that occurred on one night in September 2012, when a three-man gang robbed and murdered five people and leaving one gravely injured.
The extent of this heinous crime spree was so gruesome that Army reinforcements, anti-riot police and ordinary cop details descended on the area to curb the violence perpetrated by outraged residents.
The alleged leader, Patrick or Chibhorobho evaded the police for more than two years, only to be caught early in 2015.
Today, almost three years on, the wounds have not healed and fear is still palpable and people do not talk about the events of that night easily.
No one wants to dwell on it. A tout approached by The Sunday Mail, though, readily said he knew what transpired. But a colleague immediately rebuked him and told him to shut up.
The three-man gang’s weapons of choice were an unidentified blunt object and a bicycle chain. Their prey were imbibers navigating through the bushy terrain surrounding Chinamharo growth point on their way home after a night’s drink.
The victims were Clemence Parirehwa, Gerald Masawi, Cephas Dhewa, Marongedze Macheka and Taurai Tsikiwa.
Some two months after the murders, two suspects were arrested and reportedly confessed to the crimes.
Their names were Blessing Kunaka and Joshua Chibondo.
The third, and alleged leader, Patrick or Chibhorobho evaded the police for more than two years, only to be caught early in 2015.
Many still believe the killings were of a ritual nature. But police investigations indicate these were professional, cold-blooded killers who had also struck in Epworth, Chitungwiza and Budiriro.
The trio is to answer to those other charges in court.
We did manage to track down some of the victims’ families. And also the sole survivor of that ordeal.
Agatha Muringani is the first wife of Clemence Masawi, who was a retired administrator with ZimFrank Security.
“My husband had gone to collect his other wife who also works at the shops (in the area). Once there, he ran into some friends and decided to stay behind for some beers,” she said.
That was to be the last she saw him alive. When he didn’t return, she assumed he had slept over at the younger wife’s place.
The next day the two wives were to be shown their husband’s body.
“When we saw the bodies, about three of them, we could hardly recognise him as there was blood everywhere and their faces were smashed.
“It was only when my son saw a pair of socks that he had given my husband to wear the previous night that we managed to identify his body,” she said.
To date none of the accused has been sentenced.
“The police arrested three suspects, two initially then another one earlier this year, and they are said to have confessed.
‘‘But they are yet to be sentenced. We continually get called up for court hearings, which is expensive,” she said.
If Mrs Muringani’s case is sad then the Dhewa’s is tragic. Raphael Dhewa Sr lost a nephew that night, while his son is the sole survivor.
The senior Dhewa is the uncle of Taurai Tsikiwa and the father of survivor Paddington Zhakata.
Zhakata, however, suffered brain damage and is in a “semi-vegetative state”.
“After, we were referred to Parirenyatwa Hospital, the doctors did some head scans on him and found there was some damage to the brain.
“While not necessarily permanent, he is unable to do basic functions like stand or talk properly. He spends the entire day sitting down,” said Mr Dhewa.
“Two suspects were caught and confessed to killing those people and beating up my son,” he said. “During their confession they referred to my son as giant and told of how they attacked him but he fought back and almost subdued them.
“That was until a third guy snuck up from behind him and wrapped a chain around his neck, wrestling him to the ground. After that, the two other guys pounded on him while the third yanked the chain tighter and tighter as he kept him down.
“This happened until he stopped moving and they made their escape. After that, my heart sunk and I couldn’t listen any further, so I just left.”
Mr Dhewa is constantly reminded of this great evil every time he sees his son struggle to talk.
He also has to contend with the loss of his nephew who was coming from imbibing at a nearby bar. And he faces medical bills of US$3 400 plus interest that he cannot clear.
As for Paddington’s younger brother, Shelton, he remains hopeful of his brother’s recovery.
In the meantime, he collects every newspaper article and gleans whatever information he can get from anyone about that most horrible of nights.
