Moffat Mungazi
Tinashe Mlambo
Post Reporter
TRAGEDY struck a Chikanga family last Wednesday morning when a brutal fight among three brothers left one of them dead.
What began as an attempt by the siblings to ‘discipline’ their 36-year-old sibling, Prince, turned into a gruesome murder.
Two Dzotsera siblings — Emmanuel (32) and Peter (40) — are now up for the murder of their brother, Prince.
Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, confirmed the incident, revealing that Prince Dzotsera was fatally assaulted by his brothers, Emmanuel and Peter.
“The fight started around 3am and continued until dawn, culminating in Prince’s death. The complainant, who is a tenant at the Dzotsera home, Mr David Muenzani tried to stop the three from fighting, but failed. He advised the three to solve their issues as a family. He left the room where they were fighting and went back to his lodgings. The fighting brothers went quiet for a while, and around 5am, the mother of the three siblings woke up Mr Muenzani, and told him that Prince had died,” he said.
When The Manica Post visited the scene hours after the tragic incident on Wednesday morning, an eerie silence blanketed the modest Chikanga neighbourhood.
Several people were milling around the crime scene, just after the police had ferried Prince’s corpse to the mortuary.
Onlookers spoke in hushed voices and with solemn faces inspected the broken household furniture that include a television set, glass, a pushing tray and a decoder inside the Dzotsera house.
Neighbours who witnessed the lead-up to the tragedy recounted a night filled with violent outbursts and cries for help.
According to witnesses, the brothers accused Prince of disrespecting their mother, an issue they claimed had persisted for months.
A tenant at the house, Mr Muenzani, shared in an interview a chilling account of what had happened.
“We were sleeping in our room when we were awakened around 3am by the quarrelling brothers as well as noise from the household goods that were being thrown around. I heard Emmanuel and Peter yelling at Prince, accusing him of abusing their mother, and I decided to intervene,” said Mr Muenzani.
But his attempt to mediate was met with hostility.
“The two brothers told me to leave them alone, saying it was a family matter. They said they had a right to discipline their errant brother. I tried to knock some sense in their heads, but they would not listen, so I went back to my room. Their mother even tried to intervene, but Peter told her that they were protecting her as she used to call him while at work in Bulawayo, telling him that Prince was assaulting her. Her mother left the brothers alone and went to her room. The noise stopped for a while, and I thought they had stopped fighting,” he said.
Mr Muenzani said the brothers resumed their quarrelling around 5am.
“Around 5am, they started again. My wife begged me not to go out this time. She said it was too dangerous. We thought they would eventually resolve their issues. Shortly afterwards, their mother came to our window, crying and knocking, telling us that Prince had died,” he said.
When Mr Muenzani rushed outside, he found the grim aftermath of the night’s conflict.
“There were already many people gathered, and Prince’s body was lying on the ground covered with a blanket,” he narrated.
Mr Muenzani said he was the only tenant who tried to help stop the fight even though eight families stay at the Dzotsera home.
He claimed that others were just watching the drama from their rooms fearing reprisal from the siblings.
“The siblings are well-known for violence. Prince always abused their mother. Peter stays in Bulawayo, while the youngest brother, Emmanuel rents a room elsewhere as he was kicked out of the family home by the now late Prince. Peter and Emmanuel wanted to discipline Prince for his unbecoming behaviour of assaulting their mother, but tragedy struck in the process,” he said.
Other neighbours claimed that the deceased was notorious in the community for alleged cases of theft and violence.
Another neighbour, Ms Charity Katsande, described Prince as a problematic figure, but was quick to condemn his brothers’ actions.
“He was not perfect, but no one deserves to die like that. It is heart breaking, especially for their mother whom they were fighting for,” she said.
Assistant Inspector Chinyoka said the Dzotsera brothers, Emmanuel and Peter, are in police custody, pending further investigations, and an eventual court appearance.
