Birchenough Bridge Shaken by Child Murder Mystery

Police appoints new spokesperson for Manicaland » Chipinge Times

A six-year-old Birchenough Bridge girl who went missing last week on Friday was found dead two days later near a weighbridge at the growth point in a nasty incident that has ignited fear in the area.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Nobert Muzondo, said the girl was playing with her sibling at home at around 8pm when she went missing.

Inspector Muzondo said the body of the girl was later found dumped near a weighbridge at Birchenough Bridge.

“We have gathered that the girl was playing with her sibling outside their home at Birchenough Bridge shops. The parents run a grocery shop in the area.

“Their parents were inside the shop while the children were playing outside. At around 8pm and unbeknown to the parents, the two children joined a crowd that went to witness a road traffic accident that had occurred near the shops.

“The parents started looking for the children, but could not locate them. They, however, managed to locate the other child after some time. When asked about the whereabouts of her sibling, the other child professed ignorance.

“A report was made to the police the following day and a search for the missing girl commenced. The girl’s body was discovered by a villager who stays opposite the weighbridge,” said Inspector Muzondo.

Police attended the scene and conveyed the body to Birchenough Bridge Hospital where a post-mortem was carried out.

Inspector Muzondo said preliminary indications have not established any mutilation on the girl’s body.

“We are waiting for the post mortem results to establish the cause of the girl’s death,” he said.

In a telephone interview from Birchenough Bridge, the girl’s father, Mr Mwadira Matake said: “This is really a difficult period for me and my family. I never thought my child would die in this manner.

“It is painful. We could not establish whether all the body parts were intact since police told us to keep a distance as they carried out their investigations when the body was discovered.

“However, from a distance, we could see that the legs, head and arms were intact. We are just waiting for the post-mortem results to establish whether there are any parts missing. However, everyone around strongly suspects that this is the work of ritual murderers.”