In a chilling turn of events, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is now treating the death of a 12-year-old boy from Murehwa as a suspected murder case. Arnold Gorembeu’s lifeless body was discovered in a cooler box, prompting intensified investigations to unravel the truth behind this tragedy.
The distressing incident unfolded on February 3, 2024, when young Arnold went missing while playing with his friends at Musami Business Center. His father, Mr Golden Gorembeu, happened to be away on a business trip in Bindura at the time.
Upon his return, Mr Gorembeu was informed by his mother-in-law, Ms Esther Mutetwa (62), a vendor at Musami Business Centre, that Arnold was nowhere to be found. Initially assuming that his son was still engrossed in play with his friends, Mr Gorembeu left to attend a memorial service in nearby Chivhinge Village.
The following day, around 8 am, Mr Gorembeu returned from the memorial service only to discover that Arnold had not returned home. Growing increasingly concerned, he enlisted the help of fellow villagers, forming a search team that scoured the area in a desperate attempt to locate the missing boy. Tragically, their efforts proved futile, leading Mr Gorembeu to report his son’s disappearance to Musami Police Post at approximately 6 pm that same day.
Despite the ongoing search, it wasn’t until around 8 pm that Arnold’s younger brother, seven-year-old Genius, made a harrowing discovery. The lifeless body of Arnold was found concealed within one of the vending cooler boxes. The police were immediately alerted, and officers swiftly arrived at the scene.
Arnold’s body was subsequently transported to a hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination. Detective Inspector Rachael Muteweri, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Provincial Community Relations Liaison Officer, confirmed that the police are treating the case as a suspected murder.
“We have seen the postmortem results as investigations continue. We are investigating this as a suspected murder case. Investigations are in progress,” she stated.
