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Nqobile Tshili, Andile Tshuma and Esinathy Sibanda, Chronicle Reporters
TWO bodies were found floating in dams in Bulawayo and Umguza on Thursday, one of which is suspected to have been dumped in one of the water bodies after a brutal murder.

The body of an unidentified woman was found at Bulawayo’s Hillside Dams while that of a man (19) was found in Randal Dam in Umguza District with deep gashes and intestines protruding.

The woman whose body was decomposing is suspected to have drowned between Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Investigating officers are said to have found a bag with receipts suggesting that the deceased could have bought two bottles of wine at a shop in the city at about 11:49PM on Christmas Day.

The body was allegedly found by an employee at the dam on Thursday and he notified police.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said:

“Police were notified of the discovery of a woman who was found dead at Hillside Dams. The woman, who could be in her late 20s to early 30s, was found without any identity particulars. We are still investigating what could have caused her death although there were no physical scars on her body.”

She said the body was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals where a post mortem will be conducted.

Chief Insp Simango urged residents to always carry their identification particulars so that they can easily be identified in case of emergency.

A source said the bag found at the scene and believed to have belonged to the deceased had some herbs.

“Part of her eyebrows had already been eaten, supposedly by waterborne insects. The cops also found a black handbag suspected to have belonged to the deceased,” said the source.

The bag contained some clothing items, receipts of two bottles of wine, $117 bond notes and an Agribank bank card. In it was also a plastic bag full of traditional concoctions and herbs.

The informant added that the bag also contained a business card belonging to a Bulawayo City councillor (name supplied) which had handwritten contacts for other people.

In an interview, the councillor said he was summoned by police to help in identifying the deceased woman.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t be of any assistance as I did not know her,” he said.

Trymore Baloyi of Chelmer Farm in Umguza is suspected to have been killed and dumped in the dam.

He was last seen alive on Christmas Eve by his workmate Mr Learnmore Ncube. His body which was in an advanced state of decomposition had deep gashes and the intestines were protruding.

A neighbour, Mr Rayman Lungu (24) spotted the body at around 11am, floating along the Randal Dam bank.

Chief Inspector Simango confirmed the death but said they are treating the matter as sudden death.

“I can confirm that the body of a man identified as Trymore Baloyi was recovered from Randal Dam in Umguza and the matter is treated as sudden death. We are still waiting for the post mortem results to establish the cause of the death,” she said.

Mr Lungu said after seeing Trymore in the water he ran home to inform his father Mr Give Lungu, who informed the police. Sauerstown police attended the scene.

It was discovered that the body had a deep cut on his left armpit and another one on the stomach that exposed his intestines. Trymore and Mr Ncube were at Ntozonke Bottle Store, Mbuyazwe, along Nyamandlovu Road, where they were drinking alcohol, this paper learnt.

Trymore left the bottlestore alone, moderately drunk going to gather his herd of cattle from the pastures.

Ntozonke Bottlestore is about 2km away from the dam.

The body was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for a postmortem. Police have lamented violence in this year’s festive season, with 13 murder cases having been recorded countrywide on Boxing Day alone.

In a statement, National Police Spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said the trend of violent crimes was worrying as the festive season was a Christian holiday. “The Zimbabwe Republic Police is concerned with the recent upsurge of violent crimes such as assault, rape, attempted murder, and murder. 13 murder cases were recorded in one day on 26 December 2018. In most cases, the perpetrators use weapons such as knives, broken bottles or iron bars,” she said.

“In a recent case which occurred in Nkayi, one man was stabbed to death after a brawl with a drinking partner who used an okapi knife. In a similar incident in Mufakose, a man was stabbed to death with a broken beer bottle after he had questioned why the accused was at his gate with his girlfriend.”

“In Gwelutshena, an 80-year- old woman was struck once on the head with an iron bar before she was raped and robbed of her belongings,” said Senior Asst Comm Charamba.

She said members of the public who used dangerous weapons were breaking the law and faced arrest.