Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Binga man who allegedly axed a volunteer cop to death and kidnapped his wife and two-year-old son has been arrested attempting to escape into Zambia after evading police for three weeks.
Bongani Mudenda and his wife Sinikiwe Ndlovu were arrested last week at Mlibizi attempting to cross the Zambezi River into Zambia, police confirmed yesterday.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Ndlovu was also being charged with her husband for Mudenda’s murder.
At the time of the vicious killing, villagers feared Mudenda had killed his wife and two-year-old son as well.
The tot was found with his parents.
The couple from Gale area under Chief Pashu has been on the run since the incident which left Neighbourhood Watch Committee (NWC) member and father of three – Peter Mudimba dead.
“I can confirm that a man identified as Bongani Mudimba and his wife were arrested at Mlibizi as they were getting into a canoe. He was still with the wife and child,” Criminal Investigation Department (CID) national spokesperson Detective Inspector Mona Lisa Mangena told The Chronicle.
Mudenda is also expected to assist police in clearing armed robbery cases that he is believed to have committed in Kwekwe.
He is expected to appear in court for murder.
Police found Mudimba’s decomposing body in a hut at Mudenda’s homestead two days after he had been killed. The body had four deep cuts on the head and back.
Mudimba had been assigned by Chief Pashu to accompany Mudenda’s estranged wife to her homestead to collect her clothes and pick up the two-year-old son after she fled from the abusive Mudenda.
The couple had domestic problems which resulted in Ndlovu fleeing to the police in Kamativi who then referred her to Chief Pashu because she was seeking separation.
When the alleged murder occurred on a Monday, the couple was supposed to appear before the Chief on a Thursday.
The murder was discovered by headman Jacob Mudenda, who is the suspect’s step father, when he went to check at his homestead after the late Mudimba and Ndlovu failed to return from their mission.
Chief Pashu yesterday said villagers were relieved after news of the Mudimbas arrest spread through the area.
“He was arrested together with the wife and the community is now relieved although we still feel we need a police post in the area.
“Our area is very big but there’s no police base which makes it difficult for them to attend to crime on time.
“Recently there was a woman who died in a scotch cart accident and no investigations were done because police only arrived after her burial. These are some of the things we would want police to deal with,” said Chief Pashu.
The nearest police post is at Tinde which is more than 30km away.