The ManicaPost
Post Reporters
TWO married lovebirds were allegedly enjoying quality time at the back seat of the car they were travelling in before its involvement in a horrific accident that killed them and their driver on the spot.
The lovebirds — Franny Zinyuku and Batsirai Maphosa — perished at Watershed College near Marondera along the Harare-Mutare Highway together with the driver, Benson Chingawo.
The tragedy occurred last week on Saturday and their nude pictures have since gone viral on social media.
In the images, Zinyuku is seen in the backseat with Maphosa, with her dress rolled above the chest while Maphosa has no trousers on.
She appears to be lying on her back across the backseat, while Maphosa is in a sitting position, creating cannon fodder for the rumour-mill to conclude that the two lovebirds were having quality time in the car.
The graphic images were allegedly taken by motorists who first arrived at the scene of the accident.
Police have condemned such conduct and appealed to those who arrive first at accident scenes to offer help, instead of taking pictures and sharing them on social media.
National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident, adding that investigations are in progress.
“I can confirm the accident involving a Mazda 3 and a DAF truck, in which three people died on the spot. The truck driver escaped with some injuries, and investigations are in progress,” he said.
The fire brigade had to cut the wreckage and retrieve the trapped trio.
The three victims were all from Rusape.
Zinyuku, who was married to Blessing Mubayiwa and blessed with three daughters, was staying in Castle Base while long time buddies, Maphosa and Chingawo were from Sanzanguru.
Zinyuku and Mubayiwa’s marriage has allegedly been on the rocks over infidelity.
Maphosa and Chingawo were buried at Sanzaguru Cemetery on Tuesday.
Zinyuku was buried on the same day at Silverbow Cemetery in Rusape.
Her funeral wake and burial were characterised by squabbling and tension as her parents demanded outstanding lobola before burying her and distributing her belongings.
However, Zinyuku’s naked images which are making rounds on social media became a major talking point each time her parents tried to put the Mubayiwas in a corner.
When our reporters first visited the bereaved, friends and family members were still in shock and did not want to entertain the media.
However, following a nasty fallout over the distribution of Zinyuku’s belongings, the Mubayiwa family spokesperson, Tendai, opened the lid on the goings-on between the two families.
He described Zinyuku’s behaviour as abominable. Tendai said Zinyuku left home on Friday without her husband’s blessings.
“My young brother (Blessing) left home on Friday going to work saying he would return on Sunday. However, he returned home unexpectedly and found his mother-in-law at home with the children while his wife was nowhere to be found.
“After a while she texted him saying she had rushed to Harare to return the US$200 she had borrowed from someone she claimed was troubling her over it. He was not convinced and queried why she would take the risk of travelling to Harare when she could have sent it electronically. He cornered her and that was the last time he communicated with her.
“He kept texting and calling, but she ignored him. On Sunday morning, Blessing got the shock of his life when the police told him that his wife had been involved in a fatal accident,” said Tendai.
He said some family members had been against mourning Zinyuku at the Mubayiwa house given the circumstances surrounding her death. They only climbed down after a heated debate.
“This has brought the name of the family into disrepute, and as if that was not enough, her parents made life difficult for us by demanding US$2 445 in outstanding lobola, of which we paid US$1 485 to facilitate burial and distribution of her belongings.
“We pleaded to pay the balance after three months, but after burial they shifted goal posts and said they would only distribute their daughter’s belongings after the lobola balance has been cleared.
“This fuelled tension and we almost fought. All they want is money. We don’t want their daughter’s belongings in our family. They can take them to the family of the man she died with. They are not showing any remorse for the promiscuity that claimed their daughter’s life,” charged Tendai.
He said the US$3 000 that Zinyuku had been given by her husband to buy scrap metal was recovered.
While Tendai was fuming, Francis Zinyuku said his sister was buried peacefully, although he confirmed that his family had a misunderstanding with the Mubayiwas over the distribution of her belongings.
“It is true that she died in an accident and we buried her on Tuesday. There was a heated exchange of words between the two families, but I am not in a position to disclose the nature of the misunderstanding,” he said.
