A man from has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife and burning the body.
The man, Jonathan Manguyana, reportedly killed his wife, Ms Fortune Manyengavana at their house in Romney Park. After the murder, he allegedly dragged her naked body to a nearby bush where he doused it with paraffin before setting it alight in a bid to conceal evidence. The murder happened during the early hours of Monday.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed the murder and said investigations were under way. "We are investigating a suspected case of murder that occurred in Romney Park and one person is assisting the police with investigations. The body was burnt. At the moment, we cannot conclusively tell the cause of her death but preliminary investigations point to a possible domestic dispute," he said.
According to residents, the burnt body was discovered by the couple's neighbour and a report was then made to the police. Manguyana, who was operating an electrical gadget shop at Wephamgate Complex in the city centre and Ms Manyengavana, who was a flea market vendor at Unity Village, are reportedly from Mutare.
Neighbours expressed shock at the murder saying they did not know why Manguyana killed his wife.
"We are really shocked by what happened. It is unfortunate that nobody knows why this man decided to kill his wife. We only saw policemen asking for people who could identify the woman's body which was discovered in a bushy area, which is less than 300 metres from their house," said a neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Another neighbour said the woman's body was later identified by the couple's maid.
"The body was not completely burnt but it was difficult to recognise the woman. We thought that the man had used petrol to burn the body but their maid who identified the body said the little paraffin that was in the house had gone missing. The body was taken by the police and the man has since been arrested. Their two children have been taken by the man's sister and we do not know where the funeral wake would be held. The owner of the house is in the United Kingdom," she said.
Another neighbour, however, said before the fateful day, she heard Manyengavana asking for forgiveness from her husband after an argument that lasted for about 30 minutes.
One of the now deceased woman's friends, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said she was shocked by her friend's death.
"The two have been having problems for quite sometime. The husband did not trust his wife and when I last saw her on Sunday, she was telling me that her husband had diverted her mobile calls to his mobile phone. I was shocked to receive news on Monday that she was found dead and her body had been burnt beyond recognition," said the friend.