A woman from Zimbabwe is reported to have gone on the run after she allegedly killed her husband for ritual purposes in a murder that has shocked her community.

This publication has learnt from iHarare that Khathutshelo Moyo is alleged to have conspired with and hired hitmen to kill and mutilate her husband Langton Ribombo. The 35-year-old’s body was discovered naked on Saturday dumped in a bushy area near his homestead along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Road in Mapolovhela village under Chief Matibe.

His lower lip, the tongue, the right eye and flesh below the lower jaw were missing. According to the police, his head had been crushed. The police suspect that a heavy object was used to bludgeon him repeatedly.

A pair of his black trousers were found beside a well. The trousers were positively identified by Ribombo’s uncle Mr Dumisani Muleya. Ribombo’s brother of Dulivhadzimu suburb in Beitbridge positively identified the body.

The deceased and his wife are alleged to have been cross-border cigarette smugglers. The police suspect that Ribombo was murdered by his wife for ritual purposes.  Moyo has since gone on the run.

“The blood-stained hoe handle and stones were recovered together with the pair of black trousers. There was a trail of blood from the water well to the gate and outside. Outside the gate were some tyre marks, where the trace of the blood was last observed,”

A police memorandum dated May 22 also makes it clear, that the police suspect foul play.

“This memorandum serves to put on record the circumstances surrounding a murder case, which occurred on May 19, 2020, at Khathutshelo Moyo’s homestead Mapolovhela Village, Chief Matibe, Beitbridge,”

The police also recovered an abandoned Honda Fit vehicle which had blood stains inside it. The car was found about 10 km from the crime scene and the police suspect that Ribombo was bundled into the vehicle.

No arrests have been made so far and all the recovered evidence is currently being studied and analysed at the Forensic Science Laboratory.