By Rex Mphisa
VILLAGERS in Dithe may have spend Monday night in pursuit of a suspected rapist running riot in Beitbridge East, if distress mobile phone voicenotes from that area are anything to go by.
Early yesterday a woman appealed to other villagers to group up and heard for a hill where the seemingly weary suspect had been seen.
According former Beitbridge Mission staffer and TshiVenda language national expert Samuel Mulaudzi the viral mobile voice notes meant the suspect had indeed been sighted.
“Morning esteemed elders of our community. The messages are in Tshivenda. In short, the reporting lady is at Dithe. She is saying that the suspected rapist who is trending on social media has been located early this morning heading for the mountain at Tshambelele (Dithe area).,” said Mlaudzi unpacking the voice notes.
“The responding gentleman is Mr Mangena of Old Nuli. He is mobilizing Old Nuli, Makapile and Shabwe men to make their way to Old Nuli shops where he stays, to go and join forces with Tshambelele (Dithe) community members to go and hunt for the suspected rapist.”
Mulaudzi, a veteran educator and a TshiVenda expert, who is now based in Harare at the Curriculum Development Centre said in most cases, rape is a very violent demon that is prepared even to kill.
“I don’t know whether these civilians should hunt for a notorious criminal alone with bare hands,” said Mulaudzi.
The suspect was on Sunday night reported to have attacked a woman who overpowered him in Tshaswingo where he fled.
Tshaswingo is not far from Dithe and the suspect in his flight may have easily reached his new location, drifting towards the Limpopo.
Fears were he could flee justice into South Africa.
He is accused of having violated more than five women and is responsible for the disrupted pattern of life where some girl children no longer go to school.
In recent years a serial rapist identified as Bonnie who caused mayhem in Beitbridge Central evaded police and village search parties but was arrested by farm guards in South Africa.
In Mashonaland Central it took the army to arrest suspected serial rapist and mass murder suspect Anymore Zvitsva.
Police were yet to comment after the voice notes were forwarded to the officer commanding Beitbridge Police District Chief Superintenden Melusi Ncube.
It still is not clear if police are on the ground in the areas where the suspect has been marauding.