A polygamous Gweru businessman reportedly went berserk and shot four people, killing two of them instantly. He also allegedly kept his son and cousin hostage for two hours while waiting for their mothers, whom he shot later.
Peter Dube, a 35-year-old car dealer, pointed his gun at the two children but was stopped by one of the women, who he later shot and is fighting for her life at Gweru Provincial Hospital.
He shot and killed his second wife's alleged lover Shelton Chinhango, a 30-year-old Kwekwe-based car dealer, and another 30-year-old friend Gamuchirai Mudungwe.
Dube also seriously injured his second wife Nyasha Nharingo, 31, and her sister Nyaradzo, 34.
Nyaradzo's 16-year-old daughter claimed she and her cousin narrowly avoided death after he tried to shoot the gun at them. But Mudungwe stopped them.
Shelton, who was in the driver's seat, has been shot at close range by Dube and died on the spot.
Dube shot Mudungwe, the wife's best friend, in the chest and died instantly. Meanwhile, the wife and her sister Nyaradzo were shot in the neck and head, respectively.
Nyaradzo died on arrival at the hospital after the two sisters were rushed there.
Shelton's body was still in the driver's seat of the kombi he was driving before the shooting when the Herald news crew arrived at the scene.
Mudungwe's body was discovered on the Bensam Flats stairwells along Main Street, which police had barricaded as people rushed to get close to the crime scene.
According to witnesses and neighbors, Dube and Nyasha Nharingo had a long-standing feud, with Dube accusing the wife of infidelity.
They said that Ms Nharingo, Mudungwe, and Nyaradzo, who had recently arrived from South Africa, planned a trip to Masvingo along with Shelton before the shooting.
“Dube then got wind that his wife had gone to Masvingo with her boyfriend and he decided to go to the flat where he waylaid them,” said a neighbour who requested anonymity.
Nyasha and her companions arrived at the flat at around midnight, and Dube questioned them as they parked the car.
He questioned Shelton on why he was driving his wife late at night, and when Shelton tried to explain, Dube pulled a gun and shot Shelton at close range.
“He then went for his wife’s friend, Gamuchirai, whom he shot in the chest,” said another witness, Ms Keyler Nhari.
Ms Nhari, who was in the Kombi with Dube's son at the time of the shooting, said she fled the scene with the baby while Dube chased down the wife and sister who were running into the flat.
“I then heard two shots inside the flat and knew he had shot his wife and the sister. We rushed to the police to make a report,” she said.
Dube, who went into hiding after reportedly committing the murder, was still being sought by police yesterday.
Dube was allegedly responding to police calls on his cellphone and promising to appear at Gweru Central Police Station, according to them.
Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende, the acting police spokesperson for Midlands Province, said that inquiries were still ongoing.
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