Tendai Muererwa
​Mutare-A quarrelsome couple’s domestic dispute ended in tragedy after the youthful husband allegedly killed his wife with a wooden log.
Sources told The Midweek Watch that Samantha Chuma (41) and her husband, Tawanda Muradzikwa (34) of Chikanga 1, Mutare frequently engaged in domestic fights and on the fateful day the couple had a heated argument over their four months old child and some money.
The victim, Samantha Chuma, died on the scene on Wednesday night, while her husband, Tawanda Muradzikwa (34), was arrested shortly after the incident.
​While the couple was well-known in the neighborhood for socializing together at local drinking spots, conflicting accounts have emerged regarding what triggered the fatal argument. Some sources claim the dispute arose over money left in Samantha’s care by her brother to buy family food.
However, community sources offer a more troubling narrative, alleging that Muradzikwa had left US10 with his wife earlier that day. Samantha reportedly used US8 of that money to drink at a local bar, leaving only US$2—a discovery that infuriated her husband upon his return.
​The situation was further aggravated by the fact that Samantha had left their four-month-old infant at home to go to the bar. When the baby began crying uncontrollably, one of the tenants at the property took the infant and followed Samantha to a local Spar supermarket where she was located.
​When Samantha returned home, a fierce argument erupted. Muradzikwa began shouting at his wife before escalating the violence, allegedly striking her on the back of the head with a wooden stick.
​The grim aftermath of the assault unfolded in total darkness. Initially, Samantha’s older child approached the tenant to ask for a torch because the baby was crying and it was too dark to see. Not sensing immediate danger, the tenant did not look into it right away. However, when the child returned a second time desperately begging the tenant to escort her because they were trying to wake their mother to no avail, the tenant rushed to help.
​Stepping up to the window, the tenant shone her light into the pitch-black room. The beam revealed a horrifying scene Muradzikwa was sitting in the dark, holding his wife, who was already dead and lying in a pool of blood. Police were alerted immediately, leaving shocked neighbors struggling to comprehend how a dispute over a small amount of money could lead to such a senseless loss of life.
