• community cautiously optimistic that scary days are over
Hosia Mviringi
Marondera is a serene town about 80 kilometres East of the capital Harare.
The town, surrounded by farming communities is described as the perfect retirement town.
Far enough to allow fresh air, but close enough to the capital in case there is some business to handle.
Due to its serenity, the town has proven to be attractive to those seeking to escape the bustle of large cities.
However, the warm aura was recently disrupted when a spate of unexplained murders started being recorded.
Most of these murders had women as victims, a pattern which was too concerning to be left unchecked.
This saw the Zimbabwe Republic Police, getting seized with the rising murder cases especially those that betrayed a trend.
The announcement yesterday of the long awaited capture of a serial killer rapist who had wrecked havoc in the Province invoked a sense of relief among the residents of the farming town.
Bright Zhantali was finally arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Homicide section after intense collaborative investigation which lasted since the beginning of this year.
“On March 19, 2022, around 2100hrs, using information from service providers and our informer network, the accused person was arrested.
“The accused person has so far made indications on all the above mentioned six reported murder cases and other two unreported with one under count 7 in which efforts are underway to identify the victim whose body was found in an advanced state of decomposition,” the police said in a statement.
“The other one is in Macheke and efforts are underway to locate the body,” the statement further said.
Zhantali represents both a habitual killer rapist and a psychopathic ritualistic killer who would first rape his victims, killing them before dismembering their dead bodies.
The community in Marondera town and surrounding areas have for a long time struggled to come to terms with some of the heinous and often inhuman killings that can only now be traced to Zhantali.
Police have so far managed to link Zhantali to a spate of six reported murders and rape cases and two unreported ones, all of which were committed between January 15, 2022 and March 19, 2022 in and around Marondera and Macheke farming towns.
On hearing the news of his arrest, residents of Marondera reacted differently, with others expressing hope that safety would return in the Eastern dormitory town, while others expressing skepticism.
“He raped and murdered before and was arrested for it in 2021 I am surprised he was out committing more crimes in 2022,” Tsanangurai Makuyana said.
He was referring to the fact that Zhantali was in 2021 arrested for killing a fish monger, however he was out of custody committing further crimes – a situation which has left most residents concerned.
The doubtful opine that judging by the number and rate of killings and rape cases committed over a short space of time, it could be possible that Zhantali was not acting alone.
It is also not far fetched to suspect that the 30 year old, said to be originally from Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central, was working with some ritualists and traffickers in and around the surrounding communities and the countries at large, who could have been his customers for human body parts.
Marondera residents are calling on the police to be exhaustive in their investigations to ensure that they eliminate all chances of a murderous remnant and accomplice roaming free in the community.
Zhantali is linked to other multiple rape and murder cases in Macheke, Rusape, Mutare and Nyanga whose cases are yet to be concluded.
What astounds observers is not only Zhantali’s knack for killing his victims after raping them, but his persuasion to dismember their bodies and taking away variety of body parts for unknown purposes.
Of concern to the public is the fact that four of his known victims were ladies of the night whom he picked from well-known night clubs in Marondera.
Could it be a sadistic fetish?
All these occurred while he was already on police radar for previous murders.
Will the smooth air of quietness waft through the city of Marondera, whose silence had been disturbed by the gruesome journeyman who traversed distances to commit unspeakable acts?
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