The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Correspondent
A MARANGE illegal diamond panner was murdered and robbed of his diamonds by his best friends before they staged an accidental death scenario in a Chiadzwa mineshaft some 12 years ago.
Welldone Mutangabende of Mararira Farm in Odzi died in 2008 at the hands of John Muchinganwa and Willard Kushanya but his relatives were made to believe that an illegal diamond mineshaft had crushed him to death.
The true details of his death, however, were only revealed to his family last week after the Muchinganwa and Kushanya families of Gonon’ono Village visited the Mutangabendes with the intention of appeasing Mutangabende’s spirit.
In an interview with The Weekender, Mutangabende’s younger brother, Shingirayi Mutangabende, narrated the events leading to his death.
“Welldone left home for Chiadzwa to pan for diamonds. His friends Muchinganwa and Kushanya reported him missing and we also joined them in searching for his body. We found the body in a shallow diamond mine with a huge rock on top of it.
“He was lying face down and the rock had crushed his lower body. A police report was made and the matter was treated as sudden death. Everyone concluded that he had been crushed by the rock, reminisced Shingirayi.
However, he said Mutangabende’s best friends have now confessed that they killed him as his avenging spirit is causing havoc in their families.
“Welldone’s avenging spirit is causing mental illnesses in their families. Kushanya is now mentally ill. He shouts that he killed Welldone after robbing him of his diamonds. He claims that he kept my brother’s wallet which contained the diamond pieces. We only recovered Welldone’s wallet at Marange Police Station four years after his death.
“Muchinganwa is nowhere to be found but his relatives came here to inform us that he and Kushanya killed my brother,” said Shingirayi.
“They are only confessing due to the avenging spirit that is wreaking havoc in their families. It is also alleged that after selling the diamonds, nothing worthwhile came out of it as it was blood money,” he said.
The Kushanya and Muchinganwa families had to approach Headman Munyeri Mbare after Mutangabende’s spirit started manifesting on Muchinganwa’s sister, accusing the two of ruthlessly killing him.
Among them was an older woman only identified as Sheila, who was being used as a medium by Welldone’s avenging spirit. She manifested and told them how he had been killed.
“When they found out that I had found some diamonds, they connived to murder me. I was already dead when they put my body in a shallow mine. They crushed my corpse with a rock. It was not for rituals, they wanted my diamonds,” the spirit explained through Sheila.
The matter will soon appear before Chief Marange’s court.
