Two brothers in Chiredzi allegedly chopped off their father’s head with an axe in a dispute over his proposal to sell an ox to buy donkeys for draught power.
Isaac Mugwambami (17) and Ketani (26) of Malisanga Village under Headman Chilonga buried the headless body in a shallow grave in a sorghum field.
Relatives told The Chronicle the duo left Shadreck Kasha Mugwambami’s head covered with a cap.
Police said the siblings fled their village after the gruesome killing on Monday at around 3PM but have been arrested.
The brothers were angry over their father’s plan, coupled with their constant accusations that he was abusing their mother after marrying a second wife.
Masvingo police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula said a search party stumbled on Mugwambami’s head on the following day.
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| Brothers behead father over cattle dispute, bury him in shallow grave |
“I can confirm receiving a case of murder involving two brothers who turned against their father and decapitated him. The dispute arose over a beast. The two brothers who included a juvenile have been arrested and are expected to appear in court facing murder charges,” said Insp Mazula.
A relative, Mr Shepherd Chirove, said Mugwambami asked his son, Ketani to sell one beast so that they could buy donkeys to pull a scotch-cart to ferry sorghum from the fields.
“Ketani didn’t give in to his father’s idea of disposing of a beast leading to the dispute. Ketani and Isaac were not in good books with their father because he was abusing their mother. The abuse started after Mugwambami married a second wife,” said Mr Chirove.
When the fighting seemed to have died down Ketani, Isaac and Shadreck left for the fields to harvest sorghum and the dispute erupted again.
Chirove said the two brothers returned home in protest and warned their unnamed mother that their father was furious with everyone.
He said they advised her to leave the homestead and take refuge at their uncle’s homestead in the same village, for a night.
At around 3PM, Mr Chirove said, after the mother had left, the two brothers allegedly armed themselves with an axe and went back to the fields where they ambushed their father.
The relative said the duo assaulted Mugwambami with sticks all over the body and then chopped off his head.
“They buried his body in the sorghum field before disappearing,” said Mr Chirove.
“On Tuesday morning when relatives realised that Mugwambami had not returned home the previous night, a search party was launched. They found Mugwambami’s beheaded body in a shallow grave in the family’s sorghum field. The head was found near the grave, covered by a cap.”
A formal report was made at Ndali Police Base. Officers attended the scene but could not locate the suspects. A manhunt was launched leading to their arrest near the police base. The Chronicle
