A night of revelry turned into a scene of unspeakable tragedy at Club Royale Bar in Budiriro 2, leaving two young men dead and a community reeling in shock and disbelief. The victims, identified as Alec Ruvhere (22) and Tadiwanashe Murerwa (20), were fatally stabbed during a brawl that erupted in the early hours of the morning.
The alleged perpetrator, Cogitate Ganyiwa, is now in custody facing double murder charges. According to reports, the altercation began after a seemingly innocuous incident: Ruvhere accidentally stepped on Ganyiwa’s foot during a beer drinking session. The incident, however, escalated rapidly, spiralling into a heated confrontation that ended in bloodshed.
Witnesses described a scene of chaos and panic as the fight escalated. “It all happened so quickly,” recounted Wonder Svatsai, an eyewitness to the tragedy. “The first deceased was stabbed and collapsed before being rushed to hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival. The second victim, who tried to intervene, was stabbed in the stomach, his intestines protruding. He tried to leave the scene but collapsed and died near an adjacent nightclub.”
Murerwa’s body was discovered the following morning, lying lifeless on the ground. “At first, when I saw Murerwa’s lifeless body, I thought he had passed out from drinking too much beer since he was lying on his stomach, holding a white T-shirt in his left hand,” said Svatsai. “After a few moments, we discovered that he was dead and then we covered him with a cloth and called a police officer who lives in the neighbourhood. We were given a landline number to contact Budiriro police. The police then came to the scene, took statements, pictures and bundled the deceased’s body away.”
The incident has left Budiriro 2 residents in awe, shaken and questioning the safety of their neighbourhood. Misheck Kambara, a friend of the late Tadiwa, expressed deep concern over the growing prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse, which he believes contributed to the tragic events.
“I am still in shock; I was drinking with him just hours before this tragic event,” Kambara lamented. “We need to stop using drugs and mutoriro (crystal meth), they are affecting our future generations and leading them to do insane things like this. We need to take full responsibility for our actions and avoid such tragic incidents.”
Matthew Bunjira, Murerwa’s uncle, echoed these sentiments, expressing fear for the safety of his community. “It is now scary to walk at night after the stabbing incident,” he said. “We appeal to the police to patrol the area, as stories of people being stabbed, mugged and robbed are on the rise.”
The double murder has highlighted the need for increased security measures in the area and has sparked a wider conversation about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse in Zimbabwe.
The police are continuing their investigation into the incident, while the families of the victims grapple with the devastating loss. The Budiriro community, united in grief, is left to ponder the senseless nature of the tragedy and the urgent need for a collective effort to address the root causes of violence and crime in their midst.
