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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
THE mystery surrounding the disappearance of a 75-year-old man from Bulilima, who was reported missing in 2014, has been solved after his son was arrested for allegedly killing him and dumping the body in a disused well.

Sipoko Johnson Moyo’s decomposed body was discovered one year, four months after his disappearance on August 31, 2014.

Several attempts by villagers and relatives to locate him had proved futile until two men found his body in a disused well on January 17.

They reported the matter to the police, leading to his identification.

His 35-year-old son, Certain Moyo of Nyabane area, appeared in court on a charge of murder yesterday.

Plumtree magistrate, Gideon Ruvetsa, did not ask him to plead and remanded him in custody to February 9.

The court heard that Certain stole and sold his father’s cattle without the old man’s knowledge.

When Moyo decided to consult a prophet on the missing cattle, Certain intercepted him along the way and struck him with an axe on the head, killing him on the spot.

Certain’s son, who was about four years old then, was watching from a distance and has since nailed his father.

Prosecuting, Rose Sibanda said Abel Masango and Handsome Moyo stumbled on Moyo’s remains while searching for their cattle on January 17.

“On 31 August 2014, Sipoko left his home proceeding to a prophet to consult over his missing cattle. When he neared his kraal, Certain struck his father once on the forehead with an axe and covered the body with a tree shrub as it was during the day.

“Overnight he took the body and dumped it in a disused 8-metre deep well at Tjankwa grazing farm which is about 15 kilometres from their homestead,” said Sibanda.

She said Moyo was reported missing and efforts to find him were fruitless.

Sibanda said Certain’s son, Andrics, who was about four-years-old at the time of the murder, revealed he had seen his father axe his grandfather and then cover the body with a shrub.

She said on January 17, two villagers herding cattle stumbled on the decomposed body.

“The two men came across a pair of farmer shoes and some bones protruding from some clothes hanging onto some wooden logs in the eight metre disused well.

“They reported the matter to the police who attended the scene. Upon inspecting the body, they found identification documents belonging to Sipoko Moyo inside the clothes of the deceased,” said Sibanda.

She said a postmortem revealed that his death was due to severe head injuries and multiple skull fractures as a result of an assault with a hard and sharp object.

Certain was then arrested.