The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
TWO seven-year-old cousins had their throats slit open by unknown assailants who stashed their bodies in a blair toilet at a deserted homestead in a chilling suspected ritual murder case that happened in Sadziwa, Mutasa, on Tuesday.
The incident comes barely a month after the burial of another gruesome ritual murder victim, the late Tapiwa Makore of Murewha.
Melisa and Delaney Benza (both seven) were murdered on their way from Mbaza Primary School, about 4km away from their homesteads.
Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Luxson Chananda, confirmed the incident.
“The two, Melisa Benza and her cousin, Delaney Benza, both seven, left home as usual to attend school on Tuesday.
“They were from different families although they were close to each other.
“They were expected to return together from school around lunch hour, but failed to do so. At around 5.30pm, Douglas Benza and Micheal Benza realised that their children had taken long to come back home and looked for them around the local neighbourhood. Their search yielded nothing,” said Inspector Chananda.
He said the two Benza brothers went on to consult the school authorities on the whereabouts of their children and they were informed that the two had been dismissed together with their peers around lunchtime.
The next day at around 9am, the Benzas made a missing persons report at the nearby St Barbra’s Police Base.
Inspector Chananda said the bodies of the two were discovered after a spirited search by students from the nearby Mbaza High School.
“After failing to locate Melisa and Delaney, their parents also informed Mbaza High School headmaster, Mr Elliot Chinamasa, who then dispatched a search party made up of Form Four and Form Six students.
“The team started searching from the school going in the direction of the deceased duo’s homesteads. After about 2km and at Sambaza homestead, which was deserted eight years ago after the death of all family members, they discovered a 50-square centimetres patch of uprooted grass and some bloodstains.
“From that point, they became suspicious and followed the blood trail which led them to a blair toilet about 10 metres away. lnside the toilet they found a metal sheet covering the squatting hole. Some sand was strewn around to cover some bloodstains.
“The students tried peeping inside the hole of the toilet, but could not see anything as it was very dark. They looked for a torch at the village head’s home and upon opening the metal sheet, they discovered the bodies of the two juveniles in the 1.2 metres deep toilet,” said Inspector Chananda.
Village Head Engelbert Sambaza reported the matter to ZRP Mutasa. Members of the Criminal Investigations Department from Nyanga also attended the scene.
The two bodies were retrieved from the toilet and both had deep cuts on the left side of their necks and bloodstains on their uniforms.
All the body parts were intact.
The gruesome killing of the Benza cousins is reminiscent of the ritual murder of Tapiwa Makore of Nyamutumbu Village in Murehwa which united the nation as people from all walks of life consoled the family.
Makore was also seven.
The boy’s uncle, Tapiwa Makore (Senior) (57), is accused of murdering his brother’s son with the help of his herdsman, Tafadzwa Shamba.
The boy had his head, arms and legs cut off in the ritual killing last year in September.
Tapiwa’s remains were finally buried at the family cemetery in Murewa recently.
