GAYLORD Shamba, the uncle of death row murderer Tafadzwa Shamba, says his family is willing to pay for the crime committed in the murder of Tapiwa Makore three years ago.
However, in a bizarre claim, he says they also expect to be paid by the Makore family.
Tafadzwa and Tapiwa’s namesake uncle, Tapiwa Makore Snr, were found guilty of the murder and sentenced to death.
The Murehwa boy was killed in a ritual to try and boost a cabbage trade business.
Gaylord (59) in an exclusive interview with our sister newspaper, Kwayedza, said:
“As a family, we are willing to pay for the blood shed by our child Tafadzwa and traditionally we seek to pay when the deceased turns 18, going forward.
“But even so, if we pay, we also want to be paid by Makore’s family for the murder they made our son commit.
“We can safely say our son Tafadzwa was a slave in the Makore family, since he was instructed to commit the murder.
“He was not paid as he had been promised, he did not receive any money.
“When I saw him once in prison, Tafadzwa told me that he was promised a commuter omnibus, sorry, Honda Fit, by Tapiwa Makore Snr, which he was never given.”
He said Tafadzwa was a good man, when he was growing up, but things changed when he started associating with Tapiwa Makore Snr.
“We are closely related and in this whole incident Tafadzwa’s behaviour changed when he was taken in by Tapiwa Snr.
“He began drinking alcohol and snorting snuff (bute).
“When he started working at Makore’s homestead, all of a sudden, he acted like he was possessed.
“I think they did something to give him such courage to kill.
“We will compensate the dead but Tapiwa Jnr was God’s angel and whatever we pay will not be accepted.”
He said one of Tafadzwa’s friends hanged himself on a tree because of accusations he was involved in the murder of Tapiwa Jnr.
“Tafadzwa’s friend committed suicide and left a note which was about Tapiwa’s murder though it was torn apart,” said Gaylord.
“Now, we are left with the consequences of his actions and he is in prison awaiting death.
“If we pay the Makore family, we expect them to do the same, too, compensating for making our son commit murder.
“And, also, when our son is hanged by the law, his blood will be on the hands of the Makores because they enslaved him without payment.”
— HMetro
