bloodrayne
02-18-2004, 09:44 AM
Gory murder in Kambuzuma
A 25-YEAR-OLD Kambuzuma man yesterday allegedly beheaded his father and crushed his head with an iron bar following a domestic dispute with some of his family members over his wife.
The man, Eria Mwariwangepo, was arrested and is facing murder charges.
He is alleged to have cut off his father’s head with a butcher’s knife in a bizarre incident that has shocked residents of Kambuzuma 2.
The body of Mr Lazarus Mwariwangepo was found lying in a pool of blood in his dining room, with his head severed.
Neighbours said Mr Mwariwangepo, who was in his late 60s and was a widower employed by a Harare legal firm, woke up yesterday morning and prepared to go to work.
Some said they saw him cleaning the veranda as he usually did before he left for work.
But at around 6.30am, the neighbours and a tenant who stayed at the house, heard Mr Mwariwangepo shouting for help.
"We heard him saying ‘why do you want to kill me, let me go so that you can do what you want’. There was nothing we could do because everyone around here is afraid of Eria, his son," the tenant said.
Other neighbours said they also waited outside the house as they were scared and could not intervene.
The tenant said a few minutes later, he saw the suspect walking outside and greeted him.
"He went outside the yard and we did not suspect he could have killed his father. When we saw him returning into the house we thought the fight had ended," said the tenant.
Neighbours who were still waiting outside wondering what could have happened said they went and informed a policeman who lived nearby to check what was happening in the house.
The policeman went to the house with some neighbours and knocked on the door, which was locked from inside and spoke with the suspect inquiring whether his father was still around. The suspect allegedly told him that his father had already left for work.
"The policeman insisted he wanted to check if the father was not in the house and when we entered, we were shaken by what we saw. His mutilated body was lying in a pool of blood. The son was immediately arrested," said a neighbour.
A bloody and sharp butcher’s knife was found lying on the kitchen unit and is suspected to be the weapon that was used in the gruesome murder.
Another heavy and sharp object was also found in the kitchen and is believed to be the one used to crush the father’s head.
Mr Moses Mwariwangepo, the brother to the suspect, said his younger brother was having problems with his wife and had attempted to take his own life two weeks ago.
"My father is the one who paid for his medication after the suicide attempt and always intervened when the two fought," he said.
Mr Moses Mwariwangepo who lives in Chitungwiza, said he was called by his father on Monday who told him that his younger brother had become violent and was beating up his wife.
"I came with my sister to try and resolve the issue and slept here on Monday after discovering that things were not well," he said.
He said the family advised the sister-in-law (the suspect’s wife) to leave, while they tried to counsel the suspect.
"My father gave my sister-in-law $20 000 for transport and she left on Monday night," he said.
He said he had then left for work in the morning and left his father behind.
"The next thing I heard was my father was no more," he said.
Mr Mwariwangepo’s wife died last year and he had been staying with his youngest son (the suspect) and his wife who he married last year.
A 25-YEAR-OLD Kambuzuma man yesterday allegedly beheaded his father and crushed his head with an iron bar following a domestic dispute with some of his family members over his wife.
The man, Eria Mwariwangepo, was arrested and is facing murder charges.
He is alleged to have cut off his father’s head with a butcher’s knife in a bizarre incident that has shocked residents of Kambuzuma 2.
The body of Mr Lazarus Mwariwangepo was found lying in a pool of blood in his dining room, with his head severed.
Neighbours said Mr Mwariwangepo, who was in his late 60s and was a widower employed by a Harare legal firm, woke up yesterday morning and prepared to go to work.
Some said they saw him cleaning the veranda as he usually did before he left for work.
But at around 6.30am, the neighbours and a tenant who stayed at the house, heard Mr Mwariwangepo shouting for help.
"We heard him saying ‘why do you want to kill me, let me go so that you can do what you want’. There was nothing we could do because everyone around here is afraid of Eria, his son," the tenant said.
Other neighbours said they also waited outside the house as they were scared and could not intervene.
The tenant said a few minutes later, he saw the suspect walking outside and greeted him.
"He went outside the yard and we did not suspect he could have killed his father. When we saw him returning into the house we thought the fight had ended," said the tenant.
Neighbours who were still waiting outside wondering what could have happened said they went and informed a policeman who lived nearby to check what was happening in the house.
The policeman went to the house with some neighbours and knocked on the door, which was locked from inside and spoke with the suspect inquiring whether his father was still around. The suspect allegedly told him that his father had already left for work.
"The policeman insisted he wanted to check if the father was not in the house and when we entered, we were shaken by what we saw. His mutilated body was lying in a pool of blood. The son was immediately arrested," said a neighbour.
A bloody and sharp butcher’s knife was found lying on the kitchen unit and is suspected to be the weapon that was used in the gruesome murder.
Another heavy and sharp object was also found in the kitchen and is believed to be the one used to crush the father’s head.
Mr Moses Mwariwangepo, the brother to the suspect, said his younger brother was having problems with his wife and had attempted to take his own life two weeks ago.
"My father is the one who paid for his medication after the suicide attempt and always intervened when the two fought," he said.
Mr Moses Mwariwangepo who lives in Chitungwiza, said he was called by his father on Monday who told him that his younger brother had become violent and was beating up his wife.
"I came with my sister to try and resolve the issue and slept here on Monday after discovering that things were not well," he said.
He said the family advised the sister-in-law (the suspect’s wife) to leave, while they tried to counsel the suspect.
"My father gave my sister-in-law $20 000 for transport and she left on Monday night," he said.
He said he had then left for work in the morning and left his father behind.
"The next thing I heard was my father was no more," he said.
Mr Mwariwangepo’s wife died last year and he had been staying with his youngest son (the suspect) and his wife who he married last year.