A Bluffhill man was stoned to death on Monday while defending another man’s girlfriend at a Harare flat popular for commercial s*x work.
Malvern Paul, aged 44, lost his life after being stoned by six men at Gail Court on the corner of Samora Machel Avenue and 8th Street in Harare. He had intervened to protect Nomatter Makore, aged 30, who was being beaten by her boyfriend, Malvern Batsirai (34).
The incident began while Paul, Nomatter, and three friends, Tinashe, Natasha, and Pako, were boozing at Toga Bar in Eastlea. A dispute erupted between the couple, leading to a fight.
Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza reported that on 5 November, around 9pm, Batsirai and his girlfriend had a disagreement, resulting in him slapping her once. The couple then proceeded to Killan Court in Eastlea, where the assault continued.
Around 1am on 6 November, 44-year-old Malvern Paul arrived at the scene, attempting to prevent Batsirai from bashing his girlfriend. This intervention escalated into a fight between Batsirai and Paul outside the premises.
At approximately 5am, one man informed Nomatter that Paul had used a taser and injured Batsirai at Gail Court. When she arrived, she found Batsirai wounded and bleeding from his left index finger, leaning against the wall at the gate.
Inspector Chikanza added:
She saw six accused persons with three men identified as Gaza Cartel, Dhadza and Tsomutsomu at the gate of Gail Court. The accused persons confronted Paul, who was inside Gail Court throwing empty bottles. The six accused persons were reported to have hit Paul with bricks until he became unconscious and died on the spot.”
Inspector Chakanza revealed that they had already arrested Malvern Batsirai, one of the alleged assailants. He called for assistance from the public in identifying and capturing the suspects involved in the incident. The six suspects include Gaza Cartel, Dhadza and Tsomutsomu, who are on the run.
The owner of the flat has since chased away all the tenants, H-Metro reports. Most of the tenants are commercial sex workers.
