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After being promised $25 000 for a man’s head and private parts, Honest Moyo (22) of Gwanda allegedly killed a man on June 20 at a dumpsite in Colleen Bawn.  

He harvested the body parts, buried the body in a shallow grave and left unnoticed. He was, however, exposed a few days later by a relative who saw Moyo in his house with the man’s head leading to his arrest.

On an unknown date, Silindi Ncube of Old Magwegwe, Bulawayo allegedly murdered his sister, Patience, and buried her body in the yard of the house they were living in. He then disguised the grave by planting onions on top.

On June 25, Lawrence Moyo of Kwekwe teamed up with his wife and brother-in-law and travelled to Lower Gweru angry that his mother-in-law was using one of her teeth to bewitch them. On arrival, Moyo and his alleged accomplices started pulling Mrs Innah Ncube’s tooth. Moyo also stomped on Mrs Ncube’s stomach with his knees. They were “praying” as they did this, supposedly to free Mrs Ncube of an evil spirit that made her a witch.

Four days later, a vegetable vendor in Bulawayo beat up his colleague with a broom stick after an argument over 60 cents degenerated into a physical confrontation. The victim collapsed and died on the spot.

On May 13 in Masvingo Province, Joseph Marisa of Chief Mugabe’s area discovered that his wife, Mavis Madenga, was cheating on him. She was enraged and armed herself with an axe which she used to strike a sleeping Marisa dead.  Madenga then locked Marisa’s body in their bedroom hut and set it ablaze. Marisa’s crime, Madenga told investigators, was that even after he had discovered her cheating with six men, he didn’t say a word of reprimand to her.

“He should, at least have said something,” she told police.

Across the province in Zaka District, Chief Ndanga’s area Julius Dhabeti and Peter Chinyaka argued over beer resulting in the former stabbing the latter twice on the leg and collar bone on May 17.  Chinyaka bled to death on the spot.

Murder cases indeed continue to dominate the headlines.  Most of them are a result of disputes over small matters — 60 cents, beer, unsubstantiated witchcraft allegations as well as more important ones like infidelity.

Of course the worst of them so far this year should be the one involving Rodney Tongai Jindu, a suspect in the double murder of his friend and neighbour in Bulawayo. The two killings were so brutal and bizarre that newspapers increased print runs and online hits broke records.

National chief police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said 20 murders were recorded last month. Between January 1 this year and February 9, at least 46 people were murdered countrywide. Of the 46, 40 were murdered in January alone, while the other six were killed in February.

Yes, the crime is as old as life itself, but we are alarmed by the extent of the savagery of the killings, the frequency of their occurrence and the apparent nonchalance with which some of the murderers are going about it all. Police and the courts are equally alarmed.

It is critical, as suggested by Bulawayo High Court Judge, Justice Nicholas Mathonsi recently, for the Government and all stakeholders to establish the reasons behind the increasing frequency of murder cases. Only after we gain an understanding of the underlying causes of the crime can we begin to work out possible solutions to the problem.

Economic challenges have been cited as one of the biggest causes, as well as infidelity as we have already highlighted. People tend to be always stressed up in times of economic hardship such as we are going through as a country and can get easily angry and ready to fight, with fatal endings, at the slightest of provocations. Disputes triggered by cheating among married couples or lovers are another big cause of murders.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police is concerned with the increase of murder cases occurring in the country,” Snr Asst Comm Charamba said. “A joint research conducted by Sadc countries to analyse the nature and extent of crimes of passion in the region indicate that in general; the majority of passion killings occur between husband and wife. Passion killing cases are as a result of infidelity, jealousy, poverty, unequal power relations, drug abuse and cultural beliefs. The 31-35 years age group is mostly involved in passion killing and most perpetrators are men.”

Our people should, at all times, control their tempers. Doing this can be extremely difficult in certain cases but that will not stop us from calling upon our people never to be ruled by their emotions.  In our view self-control is the basis for reducing murder cases. If one achieves this, everything else follows.

If one has self-control, they are unlikely to fight their partner if they discover that they are being cheated on. If one has self-control, they would find it needless to fight someone else over 60 cents.

But in cases when self-control fails, and someone murders, the murderer deserves severe punishment. This is where the police and courts come in. Of course, the courts have been strong in condemning and meting out tough punishment on murderers — lengthy prison terms, life terms and sometimes capital punishment.

Society has no reason to be lenient with incorrigible killers such as those who kill and harvest body parts from their victims, who kill and burn the bodies of their victims and so on.

Heavy punishments can work as a deterrent against murder but the best way to fight the crime is for our people to always uphold the sanctity of human life.