A Chitungwiza MDC-T youth was allegedly fatally assaulted by a suspected political activist from another party during a beer drink brawl at a Christmas party on Sunday.
MDC-T officials said the incident occurred at a party organised by Ward 17 councillor Jacob Rukweza. They identified the deceased as Simbarashe Josiah Mawonedzo (24).
Harare police spokesperson, Inspector James Sabau, however, could not confirm the case as it seemed muddled in politics.
“It may be problematic to give you confirmation because it is not clear whether the misunderstanding was just about beer or party affiliation,” he said. “It’s like having a wife and a husband who support different parties and they have a domestic dispute and you say it has to do with political affiliation.”
According to Rukweza, Mawonedzo was attacked with a broken beer bottle and sustained a deep cut on the neck. He died at Chitungwiza Hospital three hours later.
The suspect has since been arrested. Rukweza said: “At first, it was a party programme attended by about 200 people. But after the formal celebrations around 5pm, we decided to go and wrap up the party at Chirunga Shopping Centre, where more people joined in and the number swelled to around 500 people.
“It was now difficult to restrict it to party members only. There was a lot of beer, (soft) drinks and meat and we had also organised a disco at the shops.” The councillor said around 6pm, the activist (name supplied) arrived and that was when mayhem started.
“The guy was collecting alcohol and pouring it into a 2-litre container and when he approached Simba (Mawonedzo) requesting more alcohol, he (Simba) refused and they started wrestling for the container. He (activist) lost his temper, broke a beer bottle and struck Simba on the neck.”
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Mawonedzo, who was now bleeding profusely, was rushed to hospital where he later died around 11pm. He was buried at Unit L Cemetery in Chitungwiza on Wednesday.
