By Panashe Karidzagundi.
MAKE The Corpse Walk is a fiction novel by James Hadley Chase whose real name was René Lodge Brabazon Raymond.
In Make The Corpse Walk, James Hadley Chase features crazed millionaire Kester Weidmann who believes money can buy everything – even life and death.
So when his brother dies, Weidmann seeks the services of a voodoo expert to bring him back to life.
The thrilling novel goes on to tell a story of the strange things people can believe about people waking from the dead and crime.
In Christianity, however, the feat is achieved in the biblical account in the Gospel of John (John 11:1–44) in the New Testament when Lazarus of Bethany rose from the dead.
The story is one of the most famous miracles performed by Jesus, who himself was later to rise from th dead three days afte his burial.
Fast forward to Johannesburg Brighton Elliot Moyo (also known as Thabiso Mlanje), became famous in February 2019 after a viral video showed him being “resurrected” from a coffin by Pastor Alpha Lukau of Alleluia Ministries International in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Moyo, later died and never woke up and was ferried to his Nkayi home in Matabeleland North for burial.
Closer to home in Beitbridge, a pre-independence story speaks about the legend of an old man from Makavhani Village who rose from the dead after being killed by freedom fighters for allegedly being a witch.
And this week, in Kwalu Suburb, Beitbridge, a man is believed to have “risen” from the dead!
The tale, only fit for James Hadley Chase, Gospel or Chimurenga chapters is said to have occured in Kwalu otherwise known as SDP when yet another Moyo, Gisbert Moyo, was found dead at a flea market.
According to a relative, Tapiwa Kamokgelo, this Gisbert Moyo, died at Tshitaudze Flea Market on Friday, July 10, 2026 morning and later returned home on Monday, July 13.
Like a wildfire, this story has swept across Beitbridge own and yonder.
The situation worsened when the missing relative walked home and all hell broke loose!
Police have however dismissed it, as a case of mistaken identity.
“The relatives thought it was Gisbert Moyo who disappeared from their home when they saw a body dressed in clothes similar to his during an identification exercise at the mortuary,” said the officer Commanding Beitbridge Police District Chief Superintendent Mesuli Ncube.
He said the other body was still in the mortuary and waiting to be identified, dispelling the rumour which even some family members said of.
In the meantme, prior to the police discovery of the mistaken identity, a funeral wake was held.
However, the family then saw the real Moyo alive at a Masowe shrine on Saturday, July 11 and later walking near St Joseph Secondary School at a place kwon as Mazondo in Kwalu One on Sunday, July 12,
Kamokgelo said that the man returned to the family homestead on Monday, July 13, where he reportedly spoke to his mother, Elizabeth Moyo, asking, “What are you going to do with my body which is at the mortuary?”
Kamokgelo said Gisbert repeatedly said, “These people wanted to kill me. Zulu can’t be killed,” and was also heard shouting, “What did you do to me? Zulu can’t be killed.”
Komogkelo said, Gisbert refused to eat food or accept money since returning home.
Kamokgelo also said attempts to photograph Gisbert resulted in blurred images, further fueling speculation among some residents.
The extraordinary claims have sparked widespread discussion in the community, with some attributing the incident to witchcraft, while others speculate about spiritual phenomena such as a “zombie” or a doppelganger.
Speaking to a local resident, with his name withheld, Anonymously told the reporters that, “this has never happened, there is something behind this” , he said
However, there is no verified evidence supporting any of these explanations.
When Ziyah News Network visited the family’s homestead in Kwalu 1, family members declined to comment on the matter.
But it has just passed as another James Hadley Chase tale.