MOUNT DARWIN – A chilling incident has shaken the community of Mount Darwin, with a Zimbabwe National Army soldier shooting and killing three people before turning the gun on himself on Friday night.
The incident, which has left the community reeling in shock and grief, occurred in the heart of Mount Darwin, an area known for its strong military presence and for producing some of the country’s finest war veterans, including former Vice President, Dr Joice Mujuru.
Police spokesperson for Mashonaland Central, Inspector Milton Mundembe, confirmed the tragic incident, stating that investigators were still on the scene gathering details.
“Our officers are on the scene. Four people are confirmed dead, including a soldier,” Mundembe said.
This is not the first time that a soldier or a gunman has opened fire and killed one or more people in Zimbabwe. In September 2020, two Zimbabwe National Army soldiers on routine Covid-19 lockdown enforcement patrol were shot multiple times, one of them to death by two civilian gunmen who pounced on a Chivhu police base and callously rained bullets on the two.
The incident happened outside a Chivhu food court where the now deceased, Lorance Mupanganyama (30) and Peter Zvirevo, both from ZNA 21 Reserve Force, Mount in Darwin, were part of a patrol team of security officers, who included police.
Two gunmen approached the police base in which the soldiers were in the company of their police colleagues. They then rained bullets on the two soldiers leaving Mupanganyama dead with “a gunshot wound on the nose which perforated through the head, a gunshot wound on the left palm and a gunshot wound which glazed on the chest”. They were later tracked before a gunfire exchange with members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces took place. One of the gunmen was shot dead and the second one who seemed to be a novice was captured alive.
The details of the latest incident in Mount Darwin are still emerging, and the police are currently investigating the motive behind the soldier’s actions.
