By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Harare – A 39-year-old man from Waterfalls, Harare, allegedly attacked his wife with an axe and later took his own life, in a tragic case believed to have been triggered by jealousy and suspicion of infidelity.
Darlington Ndira reportedly assaulted his wife, Laiza Sipiwa, 40, with a small axe in the early hours of Sunday morning after discovering that she had saved a married neighbour’s phone number under the suspicious contact name “Mbuya Juju.” The neighbour, Tichaona Vetrino, denies any romantic involvement with Laiza.
According to sources close to the family, Darlington came across photos of Tichaona on Laiza’s phone. Convinced she was having an affair, he confronted her, but the matter remained unresolved when they went to bed.
Around 4:00 a.m., while Laiza was asleep, Darlington allegedly struck her on the head with an axe. As she regained consciousness, he struck her twice more and fled the scene, leaving her unconscious and severely injured.
Laiza was later rushed to hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Two hours after the attack, Darlington sent a disturbing message to Tichaona, saying he had killed his “prostitute.” He later followed up with another message claiming he had consumed rat poison.
However, Darlington did not die by poisoning. Police later found his body hanging from a tree near Koala Park, confirming that he had died by suicide.
Tichaona, who was shocked by the messages, told reporters that while Darlington had long harboured suspicions about him and Laiza, there was no truth to the alleged affair.
“I don’t know why Laiza saved my number like that,” Tichaona said.
Tichaona also noted Darlington’s own flirtatious behaviour with other women in the community, describing him as “too jealous, yet not innocent himself.”