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Chronicle Reporter

A BULAWAYO grandmother has appealed for assistance in locating her children who she said have been missing since August.

The couple used to operate a popular shebeen cum Tshisanyama in Chinotimba suburb at the resort town of Victoria Falls.

Mrs Chipo Tarwireyi said her son, Douglas Junior Sungano Tarwireyi and his wife Thandekile Griesildah Sulo had gone missing after their shebeen was raided by the police in August.

She revealed that she discovered that they were missing after she travelled to Victoria Falls with their son (her grandchild), son Munashe Dale Tarwireyi, who had visited her in Bulawayo.

Mrs Tarwireyi said she had become suspicious when they did not contact her and all their mobile phones were not going through, despite them knowing they had left Munashe under her care.

Upon getting to the house she found that the property had been vandalized, windows broken and some property was also missing.

“My children were popular in Chinotimba with the shebeen which they were operating. It was a popular spot that would attract people from all walks of life. However it is this popularity that unfortunately made them a target from police and their neighbours and at one point they were even accused of hosting gay parties where they would entertain patrons from the LGBTQ community.

“To help curb of the police they would constantly pay a certain fee to police details but however things took a turn when they started resisting paying the bribes and hence they were subject to constant raids. We last heard from them after one such raid on 26 August 2021, initially we thought they were in police custody but the police refused to entertain us,” said Mrs Tarwireyi.

She further defended the couple saying they had been running an honest business but were unfortunate that people were jealous of their progression.

“Never at one point did they hold any gay parties, they just entertained everyone in the society, and it is unfair what was being said about them. Maybe it is because they were now refusing to bribe the police but all I am asking for is that anyone with an idea of their whereabouts to helps us,” she said.