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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
MYSTERY surrounds the drowning of a couple at Hillside Dams in Bulawayo, with their bodies being found a day apart.

Yesterday, it emerged that a woman who was reported in The Chronicle on Saturday to have drowned at the dam had in fact drowned together with her boyfriend.

The body of the man was found on Friday, a day after his girlfriend’s body was discovered.

The woman has been identified as Gillian Gombera (27) who lived in Bulawayo’s Central Business District while her boyfriend has been identified as Garikai Hatugari (31) of Paddonhurst suburb.

Garikai’s family spokesperson Mr Tawanda Hatugari yesterday said they were still unsure of what could have led to the two’s deaths.

Mr Hatugari said the family last spoke to Garikai on Wednesday as he was supposed to join his relatives at their rural home in Shurugwi for the memorial service of his brother, who died last month.

He said on Friday evening they were shaken when they received a phone call from the police instructing Garikai’s mother to urgently report at Hillside Police Station.

The woman travelled back from their rural home and went to the police station on Saturday morning.

“We received a phone call that his mother should report to Hillside Police Station. I decided to accompany her yesterday (Saturday) morning to the police station where they told us about the discovery of a body suspected to be his at Hillside Dams,” he said.

“After that we went to United Bulawayo Hospitals mortuary where the body had been taken, we positively identified it as his body.

“Unfortunately we don’t have details of what happened. What we know is that the woman’s body was discovered on Thursday and his on Friday evening.”

Mr Hatugari said the family is asking itself endless questions yet it does not have answers as Garikai was home alone as his mother had travelled.

“The last communication that we had with Gari was on Wednesday afternoon. But from then up to Thursday when the woman’s body was found there is a gap that we can’t account for. We don’t know whether they were alone or with someone else,” said Mr Hatugari.

“For the family it’s difficult. We were expecting him at our rural home on Wednesday. We were supposed to have a memorial service for his brother who passed on a month ago this past Saturday. For us it’s difficult, we just have too many questions but we do not have the answers. And we can’t speculate as well.”

He said although the family knew that Garikai was in a relationship with Gillian nothing had been formalised.

Mr Hatugari said a post mortem report was expected to be out today and his family is set to meet Gillian’s.

—@nqotshili