New details of the Bulawayo Morningside murder case, in which a man is accused of killing his wife in cold blood by stabbing her 34 times with a kitchen knife then crushing her head with a large stone, have come to light.
While his wife, the now-deceased Ms. Aquiline Sadziwa (both pictured), was carrying their infant strapped on her back at the time of the attack, the man, Pascal Dube, perpetrated the horrible murder. Thus, despite being covered in blood, the infant was unharmed. Dube vanished after committing the alleged crime, and he is still on the run.
Dube killed Ms. Sadziwa at her residence at around 9 p.m. on April 22 when the couple was on a legal separation; the cause of her vicious attack is still unknown.
“I have never seen something like that. Even an animal cannot be killed like that. I was told by my wife to go and investigate what was happening after the couple’s child had informed the landlord that Aquiline was being attacked by Dube. When I got there, I found Aquiline lying face down but never assumed she could have died since it was dark.
When I got closer, it became clear to me that she had died and I made a U-turn and headed to my car. I drove to Hillside Police Station and reported the matter,” he said.
Mr Chingonzo said police attended the scene and realised that Dube had targeted body pressure points first as she had stab wounds behind the ears and several deep cuts all over her arms and body.
“There was a large stone next to her body that he had used to crush her head. I wonder what wrong my niece had done to deserve such a brutal killing,” he sobbed. He said had Ms Sadziwa’s son not escaped to the main house, he could have met the same fate as his mother.
Mr Chingonzo made an emotional plea to men to consider returning their wives to their families if their marriages were not working.
“I beg the young men who are here if you feel you cannot live with your partner or wife anymore, rather take her back to her people. Parents, if you hear your daughter complaining of abuse, take her back because one day it will get to this stage. We had to quickly bury her as she was severely injured in the attack. Her eyes had popped out after the head was crushed with the large stone,” he sobbed.
Mr Micheal Sadziwa, father to the deceased could not hold back tears. He said it was sad that the Dube family had not yet spoken to them since the death of his daughter.
“It is cultural that they come and apologise. They haven’t. It is surprising to me that more than two weeks now no one from his (Pascal) family has come to talk to us. What comes to mind is that maybe it was a well-organised thing with his family. Why are they not coming to talk to me and apologise? I want closure. I want to know what crime my daughter committed to deserve such a painful death,” he said.
A neighbour, Mrs Anic Mhiribidi who also attended a local church with the deceased said she was a quiet woman who attended church regularly.
“She attended church with us and was very passionate when it came to singing and dancing. We were discussing with other members of the choir that we would invite her to be part of us but unfortunately we never got the chance to do that,” she said.
Mrs Juliana Magaso, a neighbour also lamented the gruesome crime.
“She was a very open and free spirit person whom we interacted with every time we met in neighbourhood,” she said. The family pleaded to anyone with information that might lead to the arrest of the murderer to assist by reporting to the police.