The family of an 18-year-old girl whose remains were found in September 2025 is still waiting for permission to bury her, a year after she vanished while travelling for a job opportunity.
The remains of Christabel Bikausaru lie unclaimed in a state mortuary, caught in a bureaucratic quagmire that has turned a family’s grief into a living nightmare.
In August 2025, Christabel left her rural home in Karuru, Hurungwe North, with the hope of securing a domestic job in Chinhoyi, arranged by an acquaintance named Arnold Pajiwa and a woman known only as Nora.
Her final call to her mother was made on the night of August 23 from Karoi’s K14 suburb and since then, her phone has been silent.
Her disappearance remained a mystery until September 9, when police summoned the family to a bush in K14.
There, they identified Christabel’s decomposed remains, along with her clothing, identity document (ID), and travelling bag.
While the family was prepared to lay her to rest, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) ordered a halt to the burial pending a DNA test and post-mortem.
However, what was promised as a one-month wait has stretched into an 11-month ordeal.
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“We identified her clothing, bag, phone, bones and skull. We were ready to bury her,” said her father, Jeffrey Bikausaru, speaking from Kenzamba.
“But police said we must wait for DNA. They told us it would take one month. It is now July 2026. Nothing has moved.”
The delay has fractured the family’s psyche.
Christabel’s mother spends her days sitting by the door, waiting for a voice that will never come, while her younger siblings repeatedly ask when they will finally bury their sister.
In Shona culture, the first-born child is the spiritual custodian of the family, responsible for leading prayers and communing with ancestors.
Since Christabel’s death, those rituals have ceased.
“The house feels empty, but also full because we never said goodbye,” her uncle, Whisper Bikausaru, said. “We cannot move on. We cannot heal.”
Police revealed that Christabel was reportedly lured to Karoi under the guise of employment.
However, the trail has gone cold. Arnold Pajiwa’s family has disowned him, and the woman identified as ‘Nora’ has not been traced.
With no suspect in custody, the family fears the worst, suspecting the teenager may have fallen victim to ritual murder.
“Young girls are being taken. We have heard stories. Police have not made any headway,” Whisper added.
Efforts to expedite the process have proved futile.
Family members said they have visited Karoi Police Station and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) multiple times, only to be met with the refrain that the "file is still with CID" or that they are "waiting for the lab."
Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson Inspector Ian Kohwera said the public will be updated when ‘fresh details emerge.’
Without a DNA result, the state cannot release the remains.
The family, impoverished and exhausted, cannot afford legal action to force the issue.
For 11 months, Christabel’s bones have remained in a Karoi mortuary fridge, while her spirit, according to custom, wanders, unable to find rest.
The Bikausarus have waited for answers, living with grief that has no grave to visit.
“When we go to the station and they say ‘the file is still with CID’. We go to CID and they say ‘we are waiting for the lab’,” Jeffrey lamented.
“We wanted to bury her and close this sad chapter. It’s haunting us. Her soul will never rest.”
The Bikausarus have waited for answers, living with grief that has no grave to visit.
