DOMBOSHAVA — The recent murder of six men from Chinamhora community in Domboshava has sparked a backlash on prostitutes.
Report by Jennifer Dube
Villagers in the area are now calling for a clean-up campaign to weed out all suspected sex workers who lodge in the surrounding communities.
villagers last week said there was a proliferation of “strangers”, mostly prostitutes, in Domboshava, whom they suspected of luring dangerous criminals into the area.
“Our community has always had its share of prostitutes, but it is now too much,” said Yvonne Johannes, whose 65-year-old father Clemence Parirewa was murdered recently.
“A lot of illegal structures are mushrooming in people’s backyards and rented out to people from outside Domboshava, whose backgrounds no one has a clue about.”
Residents said shop-owners were at the centre of the controversy, creating residential quarters at backyards of their business premises and renting them out to “questionable characters”.
“Thieves and prostitutes are collaborators, so we believe that the many prostitutes staying in this area give thieves space to come here and monitor how people live, allowing them to plan heinous activities,” said Tichaona Parirewa.
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Six men were recently murdered in Domboshava, five of them using the same method, raising suspicions that a gang of dangerous criminals was on the prowl.
The five, four of them murdered as they left Showgrounds business centre on September 7, are believed to have been hit with blunt objects on their heads while their bodies had bruises.
There are allegations that there was no blood on two of the bodies at the murder scenes, raising speculation the killers were drawing blood from their victims.
As a result, security has been tightened, with police establishing a post at the business centre. security details are now a common sight in the area.
There are reports that traditional leaders have been selling residential stands to people from Harare and other areas and “original” residents suspect that some of these “foreigners” could be behind the killings, which are suspected to be linked to rituals.
Chinamhora police officer-in-charge Lameck Mtetwa would not comment as his mobile went unanswered last week.
Officer commanding police in Murehwa district, Simon Mwatsikesimbe referred questions to acting police spokesperson, Charity Charamba who was said to be out of office.
Disruption to business
residents said they now retired from the growth point before sunset for safety reasons, driving night club owners out of business. “Business is not doing very well as police can come in any time looking for the criminals, but we are not complaining since it is for a good reason,” said one bartender.
Beauty Muvirimi, mother to Casper Muvirimi who survived an attack by three men on the same night of the murders, said she and other vegetable traders now waited for sunrise instead of going to the local market before dawn as they used to do.
