A 28-year-old Beit Bridge man allegedly brutally murdered a four-year-old girl by striking her with an axe several times, before committing suicide in police cells.

According to the police, the incidents follow a dispute with his wife over the child’s paternity.

The incident, which left the entire community of the border town shell-shocked, occurred at Dite village in Chief Matibe’s area, outside Beit Bridge town.

The Matabeleland South police spokesperson, Assistant-Inspector Trust Ndlovu, said the incident occurred on Friday, October 10, at around 11:00. 

“On the fateful day, Reason Mbedzi had a dispute with his wife, Vuka Sibanda, over the paternity of their daughter, resulting in Mbedzi’s dragging his wife to his in-laws’ homestead, together with the child. On arrival, he confronted his father-in-law over the issue, accusing his wife of infidelity,” he said.

It was during the heated argument that Sibanda eventually revealed to Mbedzi that the child was not his, after which she subsequently dumped the child and fled.

“However, Mbedzi’s father-in-law managed to persuade Mbedzi to put the issue on hold, with the understanding that they would try to resolve the matter the following morning,” Ndlovu said. “It appears Mbedzi, who was apparently incensed by his wife’s revelations, could not contain his anger, resulting in his waking up shortly afterwards. He took an axe and fatally struck four-year-old Sannah ten times all over her body.”

The suspect’s father-in-law woke up as result of the noise and found the little girl lying lifelessly in a pool of blood.

 Soon after the incident, Mbedzi fled from the scene, but a report was made to the police, leading to his arrest.

He was subsequently taken to Beit Bridge Police Station where he later committed suicide by hanging himself from the roof of the police cells, using his pair of trousers.