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Breakthrough in Beit Bridge murder probe

 
Police in Beit Bridge have arrested the main suspect believed to be the brains behind the murder of a prominent local businessman, Mr Dambanyika Mbedzi, in 2008.

The local police spokesperson for Beit Bridge district, Chief Superintendent Hosiah Mukombero, said the suspect, Leonard Mduduzi Ndlovu (36) of Mwenezi district in Masvingo, was arrested on Friday at a local service station, following a tip-off. “We arrested the main suspect linked to the murder of Mbedzi and he is now assisting us with investigations. We also recovered a cell phone belonging to the victim,” he said.

Mbedzi was brutally axed to death by a group of four suspects at a bushy area outside the border town where he was reportedly on a romantic outing with a female companion. The incident, which left the local community shocked, occurred in August 2008 on the outskirts of Beit Bridge town. Mbedzi and his girlfriend had parked their car when four suspects armed with axes, iron bars and knives descended on them. One of the suspects struck the window of the car, using a huge stone to gain access to the vehicle.

The suspects dragged Mbedzi out of his car and demanded money. Mbedzi tried to wrestle with one of the suspects in a bid to disarm him, but the other suspects joined in the fight and overpowered the businessman. The suspects then struck him several times in the chest and leg with an axe, so that he could not escape, while the woman he was with took to her heels. The suspects got away with four cell phones.

The woman went and alerted some villagers and they rushed to the scene, where they found the victim lying in a pool of blood next to his bloodstained car, a Nissan March. The villagers tried to give chase to the suspects, but they were outpaced.

Chief Supt Mukombero said Ndlovu would soon appear in court on a murder charge.

News - Date: 15 January 2010

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Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

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