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Walter Mswazie Masvingo correspondent
A GOKOMERE man who is alleged to have murdered his wife following a dispute over isitshwala has told a court that he suspects that the body was tampered with by her relatives.Paul Chiumba, 40, of Chikumbezi Village under Chief Zimuto, was granted $100 bail on Thursday by Masvingo magistrate Jabulani Muzinyathi after his lawyer argued that his client was not a flight risk.

Chiumba through his lawyer, Charles Ndlovu, said his late wife, Sukai Chiutsi, died of tonsilitis and it was likely that her relatives strangled the body at Masvingo General Hospital mortuary.

“My client highly suspects that his wife’s corpse could have been tampered with by her relatives with whom he had bad blood. My client said he heard relatives of the deceased saying they wanted to fix him upon receiving the death message,” said Ndlovu.

Prosecuting, Fidelicy Nyamukondiwa said Chiumba arrived home on a Sunday night and was served isitshwala with vegetables to which he refused to eat saying he does not feed on vegetables leading to a misunderstanding with his late wife.

“On September 7 around 10PM Chiumba arrived home from his workplace at Chisumbanje Biofuel Ethanol Plant and found his late wife, Sukai Chiutsi, 35, asleep. Upon arrival Chiumba woke Chiutsi up after which she served isitshwala with vegetables to which he refused to eat saying he was not used to eating vegetables.

“A misunderstanding ensued in the process and Chiumba assaulted Chiutsi until she experienced difficulties in breathing,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard that Chiumba’s young brother Peter, whose homestead is next to the murder suspect’s, looked for transport to rush Chiutsi to Masvingo General Hospital but she died before being taken into the vehicle. A postmortem report revealed that Chiutsi was actually strangled.