WITH grisly murder cases resulting from social and family disputes on the rise throughout the country, police have called on churches and community elders to intervene with community counselling sessions.
This comes as the police have been reporting murder cases almost daily since the beginning of the year.
In an interview with the Daily News yesterday, national police spokesperson Paul Nyathi described the trend as abnormal since almost all suspects are known to be people closest to the victims such as family members and friends.
“Every day we are faced with a heart breaking task where we are called to investigate a murder case.
“The rate at which murders are being committed is so rampant and it is very worrying. What is even more worrying is that most of these murders emanate from family disputes. We have seen parents killing their children, spouses killing each other and friends.
“It seems people are just on the edge and no longer know how to handle disputes. They have taken violence as a way of solving problems and this has led to the sad situation we are faced with.
“The police, therefore, call on church leaders and elders to come in and help instill peace among family members. We believe that they play an important role in educating people about peaceful ways of solving disputes,” Nyathi said.
One of the latest cases is when a 43-year-old father from Gokwe allegedly axed his two children aged seven and 14 last week.
The bodies of the victims were found with deep cuts on the necks in a maize field and the father’s axe was recovered on the scene while his shoe prints were observed near the bodies.
At the same time, the police in Nyamapanda are investigating circumstances surrounding a murder case in which the body of Juliet Chapfuruka (65) was found buried in a shallow grave on February 2 at Maruza Village in Mudzi district.
The body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition with no head and with burns. A human jaw, teeth and grey hair were found at about 64 metres from the grave along a stream bank.
Last month, police reported that a Harare man (44) had been fatally assaulted by a wooden plank all over the body by his employer after he demanded his salary.
The victim sustained a swollen head and several injuries all over the body.
A few days later, he was later found dead in a stationary vehicle.