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The late Brighton Tshuma

Prince Sunduzani, Chronicle Reporter
A 31-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo allegedly hanged himself at Luveve cemetery and left a suicide note inscribed on his shirt alleging that he had been attacked by his girlfriend and two other men whom he ordered to feast on his body.

Passersby discovered the body of Brighton Tshuma from Cowdray park suburb, hanging from a tree at the cemetery at around 6AM yesterday.

Residents said he had passed by their homes on his way to the cemetery at around 2AM while talking loudly to himself.

Tshuma’s mother, Mrs Atalia Tshuma, said her son was on the run from police after assaulting his girlfriend in an infidelity row on Friday.

Mrs Tshuma said: “I received a call at around seven in the morning. I then went to the cemetery. He had written a note on the inside of his T-shirt with three names — that of the girlfriend and two other people (names withheld). On the note, my son wrote that they beat him up. He also wrote Nansi inyama yenu, dlanini. (Here is your meat you can now feast on it.”

She said she had warned her son against associating with the girl as she was promiscuous.

“I told him to leave that girl but he did not listen, instead he fought with me. Before his father died he also told him to cut ties with the girl. By the time of his death he was on the run from the police following the assault incident,” said Mrs Tshuma.

Meanwhile, an unidentified man was cut in half after he allegedly threw himself in front of a train in a suspected suicide in Emganwini on Saturday afternoon.

Sources said the man was dragged by the train for about 300 metres.

Mrs Atalia Tshuma, the late Brighton’s mother

“We believe he was trying to commit suicide. When we rushed to the scene we found the body disfigured and it was cut in half. He was dragged by the train from near Mbokodo up to the level crossing,” said a man who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango could not be reached for comment on both incidents yesterday.

Suicide cases have been on the rise and police have warned people against taking their own lives, urging them to find better ways of solving their problems.

Police have noted that more men are committing suicide in the country compared to women.

The Cowdray Park house in which they lived

They have attributed the trend to social pressures associated with men having to be breadwinners in a harsh economy.

According to the police, the number of suicides increased from 474 in 2015 to 636 in 2016.

A total of 489 men committed suicide in 2016, up from 348 in 2015 while 147 women committed suicide in 2016 and 126 took their lives in 2015. — @PrinceNkosy102