Two men have been arrested and charged with murder after a suspected thief died from injuries sustained during an assault in New Tafara, Harare. Fradreck Nhata (41) and Forget Zhakata (26) appeared in court alongside two other suspects still at large.
The court heard that on May 12 at around 12:30 am, the accused assaulted the now-deceased man all over his body using batons and sjamboks, accusing him of being a thief. They left the injured man on a footpath. The man then went to a resident’s house seeking refuge but later succumbed to his injuries.
The resident found the man’s body on his verandah on May 12 at 6am and reported the incident to police. An autopsy conducted on May 16 concluded the cause of death was traumatic shock, extensive soft tissue injuries and muscle hemorrhaging due to the assault.
Detectives investigating the homicide arrested Nhata and Zhakata on June 6. Nhata led police to recover a baton from his home while Zhakata showed police where to find the sjambok used in the attack.
The two suspects were remanded in custody and the case deferred to July 28. The brutal assault and death of the suspected thief highlight the dangers of mob justice. Proper investigation and prosecution of the case will hopefully deliver justice.
