A traditional leader in Zhombe (Kwekwe district) says he is disturbed by incidents in his area where three women were recently allegedly murdered by their husbands.
Chief Wait Gwesela told 98.4FM News that he had received three cases in which husbands allegedly killed their wives following domestic disputes in the Tiger Reef area, a mining area some 15 kilometres west of Kwekwe.
“I am very saddened by what happened in Tiger Reef, which is under my chieftainship, where on separate occasions three women were killed by their husbands. One of the deceased women is actually lying in a mortuary as we speak,” said the traditional leader.
The chief said he had summoned villagers in the Tiger Reef compound for an urgent meeting over the alleged murder cases.
He said: “I don`t even understand what is going on with these heinous crimes. I have summoned my headmen so that I address the people in the compound (Tiger Reef) because this kind of behavior is unsettling.”
Chief Gwesela added that he suspected that the murder cases could be connected to ritual killings. Cases of gender-based violence against women are reportedly on the increase in the country. He also called for the Zimbabwe Republic Police to intervene and assist him to deal with the situation.
According to the United Nations arm UNFPA, at least one in three women in Zimbabwe encounters physical violence, most at the hands of a husband or partner – a grim statistic that has only worsened in lockdown as domestic tensions play out around the clock and behind locked doors.