By A Correspondent| It was on the 18th March 1975 when Africa’s first London bar barrister, Herbert Chitepo died in a car bomb explosion which was clearly an assassination, one of many others to happen years later – from Tongogara to Ndangana, to Mahachi to Chindori-Chininga. The accident scene on Saturday afternoon in Chatsworth/Mvuma road which killed Zimbabwe’s fiery young lawyer, Inviolata Dumbutshena sent shockwaves throughout the community. The young and powerful Inviolata, 34, died barely a few months after defeating the Zimbabwe National Army in a High Court land battle, the family told ZimEye.com.

If her death was not of a classic Chitepo bomb or a traditional puma collision, what was it?, most news readers repeated the question on Sunday.

Looking at her background, Involata is the granddaughter of Zimbabwe’s former chief justice, Enoch Dumbutshena, the latter who clashed with Emmerson Mnangagwa over the Gukurahundi extrajudicial killings the ZANU PF leader was personally responsible for in the early 1980s. Justice Dumbutshena’s children have since taken up the legal profession following after him.

(READERS NOTE: Some of the pictures from this accident are distressing to those of a nervous disposition)

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Inviolata had a successful law firm which has two branches in Bulawayo and in Harare. She was on her way from South Africa through Bulawayo, when she decided to use the Masvingo, Mvuma road back to the capital city.

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The sad incident happened at a sharp curve spot between Chatsworth and Mvuma.

Sources told ZimEye advocate Dumbutshena was with a friend in the same car.  

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

She was traveling from Masvingo towards Mvuma when her Toyota Rav4 was later found virtually shapeless just 15 metres away from the main road. Newsreaders questioned the shape of the car after the accident saying it did not appear reflective of a genuine collision especially one that happens within 15 m of the main road. There were several pieces of debris scattered all over the place around the vehicle in what some alleged could be the aftermath of an explosion. This belief was reinforced by the late lawyer’s sister who on Saturday evening told ZimEye, “when we got to the accident scene having driven from Harare, we only saw her car and there was nothing else to suggest that there had been a collision.” 

This testimony would later shift as the same source a day later sounded out that she later witnessed fresh pictures of a gonyet (haulage truck) visuallyindicative that there was a genuine collision.

She however insisted that she still believes that the accident was a stitch up job by men in power to end Inviolata’s life.  

THE ACCIDENT.

During the ZimEye.com program on Sunday morning, some contributors previously unknown to ZimEye joined in to say they had witnessed the accident and they believe that it was a genuine collision. One of them named, Beauty Joseph provided the below pictures saying the haulage truck had a head on crash with the Toyota RAV4, resulting in the smaller vehicle ending up landed in the bushy area near the road. 

Ms Joseph said her findings are supported by the fact that there is a sharp curve in the road and the RAV4 was traveling too fast while approaching the haulage truck. The accident was caused by failure to slow down and improve judgement due to the blind spot, she told ZimEye.

But could this not be the very reason why an assassin would choose such a spot to commit murder?, another contributor told ZimEye. 

Ms Joseph told ZimEye when they arrived at the scene, “the truck driver was busy making calls. No one was injured from the truck.” This is not to indicate that he was part of a plot.  

WHO COULD WANT TO HURT HER?

The family told ZimEye, beyond the land dispute with the Zimbabwe national Army High Court case which she won in in December, Inviolata had gained a reputation for handling sensitive cases involving men and women in high places. 

” Her law firm was now well trusted for handling sensitive cases of high profile people,” another family source told ZimEye. 

As in the ZNA case, she represented a female client. (ZimEye is making a follow up investigation on this.) 

She had also received a prestigious award for excellent legal services as video footage reveals.

Meanwhile, as a post mortem is underway, mourners are gathered at the family home in Borrowdale, Harare.