Man Murdered, Dumped Along Railway Track

POLICE in Hwange are investigating the suspected murder of a Cinderella man whose body was discovered on Sunday morning along the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo railway line.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson Siphiwe Makonese confirmed the death of Shafton Zulu (38), who ran a hair salon in Hwange.

Man Murdered, Dumped Along Railway Track

“We received an anonymous phone call around 7:45am alerting us that there was a body at the 1 096km peg along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls railway line. When Criminal Investigation Department attended the scene, they noted that the deceased was severely tortured before his death,” she said.

“The intent was to conceal evidence so that it appears like a train had run over him, but the train delayed on Sunday.”

Makonese said Zulu was last seen at a local bar on Saturday evening, where he had a heated argument with an unknown patron.

“He went with his brother Mavuto to drink beer. As the evening progressed, he had a misunderstanding with one patron over an unknown issue. The two are said to have withdrawn from other patrons to solve the matter outside. A few minutes later, the two returned. Mavuto went home at 8:30pm, leaving his brother behind,” Makonese said.

“The bartender, Praise Ngwenya (30), told us that the deceased left the bar alone at an unknown time. The man he had the argument with was wearing a blue work-suit, is dark in complexion, medium built and has short dreadlocks and that is the person we are looking for in our investigations.”

She appealed to the public to come forward if they have any leads.

Makonese said Zulu’s body was identified by his brother, Joel, before being taken to Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo for a post-mortem.