By A Correspondent- A 21-year-old University of Cape Town student plunged to his death from the 17th floor of the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare in an apparent suicide, police said.
Kundai Ganjani died on Wednesday after a furious row with his parents.
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told ZimLive.com that they were concerned about a growing number of people walking into tall buildings and jumping to their deaths.
Nyathi said: “I can confirm that our officers attended to an incident at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare on March 11 following reports of a body discovered on M2 (Mezzanine Floor 2).
“Our investigations established that the 21-year-old male had jumped from the 17th floor of the hotel.”
Nyathi said a review of CCTV showed Ganjani walking into the hotel. He apparently evaded security, ending up on the 17th floor which has some of the hotel’s luxury rooms.
“We know from the CCTV that he spent some 15 minutes in a common room before he jumped to his death. His parents were called to the scene and they identified his body. He was a student in South Africa and it is alleged that he abused some money availed by his parents. When he travelled to Zimbabwe recently, the parents told him he was not going back to South Africa, and that’s when he went to Rainbow Towers,” Nyathi said.
A friend of the 21-year-old said his family was concerned about what he described as an “out of control drug habit”.
“We had a pastor who jumped at Ruzende in September last year, and a Prince Edward student who jumped off from the same buildings two weeks later. When people walk into high rise buildings and commit suicide, it’s a matter of concern,” said the police spokesman.
Rainbow Towers corporate communications manager Pride Khumbula said: “I can confirm there was an incident at the Rainbow Towers Hotel on March 11, 2020. The matter was reported and handed over to the police. As the matter is now under police investigation, we are unable to make any comment on the same.”
She maintained that Rainbow Towers was secure for their guests.
“The safety of our guests is our priority. Our hotels have the necessary safety requirements to ensure guests’ safety,” Khumbula added.