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Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
A POLYGAMOUS man from Shurugwi allegedly went berserk and brutally murdered his wife accusing her of infidelity after stumbling upon a “suspicious” WhatsApp message on her mobile phone.

Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the incident which occurred on Tuesday when Godfrey Machingura (31) of Reinsburg Farm in Shurugwi allegedly killed his wife Winnet Nyika (25) following a misunderstanding over the alleged infidelity.

Insp Goko said Machingura had seen a “suspicious” WhatsApp message on Nyika’s phone which he suspected was coming from her boyfriend.

“I can confirm that police in Shurugwi are investigating a murder case where a 31-year- old man allegedly killed his wife over suspected infidelity. It is suspected that on Tuesday at around 4 PM, the suspect returned from work at Coronation Mine in Shurugwi and asked his two wives the now deceased Nyika and Nomatter Mangwere (25) to prepare food for him.

“Nyika allegedly asked Machingura to charge her phone in the house while she prepared the food. It is alleged that while the phone was charging some messages popped up. Machingura called Nyika so that they could read the messages together and a misunderstanding arose,” he said.

Insp Goko said following the argument, Machingura allegedly severely assaulted Nyika and she cried out for help.

“At around 6PM, Mangwere heard Nyika crying in the bathroom and went to check on her. When she got there, Machingura came out of the bathroom holding Nyika who could no longer walk. He then left her on the ground while purporting to be looking for transport and disappeared,” he said.

Insp Goko said Mangwere reported the matter to the police.

“When the police got to the scene, they found Nyika already dead. The body had serious injuries. The suspect is still on the run. We are appealing to anyone with the information of his whereabouts to inform any nearest police station,” he said.

A relative said Machingura stabbed Nyika all over the body and left her for dead at the house while covering her with a blanket.

“Machingura is my uncle and he had two wives who were of the same age. Machingura suspected that Nyika was cheating on him after seeing some messages in her phone. He locked her in the bathroom where he stabbed her to death before covering her with a blanket so that the second wife would not notice that she was already dead when he left the house. He has gone into hiding,” said the relative on condition of anonymity.