The ManicaPost
THE story of rape and subsequent murder of a Sakubva woman that we carry elsewhere in this newspaper today is ghastly to contemplate on.
Apparently, this is not the first time that we have witnessed similar cases in Mutare and if anything, the callous murder of innocent residents, both males and females, has been on the increase.
It is mind boggling to note that in most of these cases, murder is committed as a crime of passion after misunderstandings between related or even married people.
Not so long ago, we also carried yet another story of the brutal cold blood murder of a young man in Chikanga, Mutare at the hands of her irate wife.
Murder cases, especially those that eventually come up as crimes of passion are on the rise and there is no justification whatsoever for these hideous acts, however hard the culprits try to defend their actions.
Whatever happened to the old social phenomenon that human life is sacred, holy, and precious!
The rate of moral decadence that has resulted in disrespect for human life in our society is alarming and if we do not join hands to stop this, then we are headed for ruins.
The recent spurt in crimes of passion, including murder, has left the social and moral fabric of Mutare as a city, the province and the nation at large, on the edge.
It is sad to note that while some of these crimes appear to be pre-meditated, others are a reaction to provocation.
The tide of murders committed as crimes of passion is sweeping both the youths and the elderly, partners killing each other and domestic violence on the extreme end.
It needs not be overemphasized that urgent measures should be put in place to curb the worrying trend of partners injuring and killing each other over petty issues that would have otherwise been solved peacefully.
Intense public education should be carried out in the society on how to handle relationship pressures so as to prevent people from taking extreme measures over silly issues and knowing when to walk out instead of clinging on when you know the end result.
This also serves as a reminder to citizens to explore the traditional channels of conflict resolution in families and communities that we reside in.
Furthermore, religious leaders in our midst also need to take up the challenge and intensify teachings on moral values as we cannot continue like this.
We all know the respect that religious leaders command in our communities let alone in this age.
They have a social responsibility to build a peaceful society by teaching the proper ways of conflict resolution as well as the sanctity of human life.
It is also crucial to consider that one of the surest ways to drive down the murder rate is to reduce poverty, improve education and help people overcome whatever personal problems plague them – alcohol, drugs or frustrations, to name just three.
Those fixes would lower the number of Zimbabweans driven to dangerous lifestyles – gangs, narcotics, prostitution – that correlate with many of this nation’s, and this city’s, homicides.
Criminologists call this the “root causes” approach. If we eliminate root causes of violence, homicide rates will topple.
Lest we forget, the sanctity of human life is not due to the fact that we are such wonderful and good beings.
The only reason the sanctity of life applies to humanity is the fact that God created us in His image and set us apart for all other forms of life.
Although that image has indeed been marred by sin, His image is still present in humanity as we are created in the image of God, and likeness means that human life is always to be treated with dignity and respect.
