Tens of people yesterday (Wednesday) stormed Masvingo Central Police Station in the CBD and Backpackers Lodge demanding to know how Josiah Rimai (31), a popular taxi driver who plied the Masvingo – Rujeko route was killed at the weekend.
Rimai’s death brought together taxi drivers throughout the City as they scoured the periphery of the city for his body. They also posted the picture of their departed colleague on their cars.
Masvingo Police spokesperson Charity Mazula referred questions to her superior Paul Nyathi who was in a meeting when The Mirror called.
Rimai who went missing on Sunday from a city Lodge was found lying almost lifeless in a bush near Masvingo Teachers’ College on Tuesday afternoon. He died on admission at Masvingo Provincial Hospital.
Sources told The Mirror that Rimai was allegedly killed by a couple who hired him on Sunday morning and spent the whole day making trips with him including going to the Great Zimbabwe Ruins.
The suspects in the murder case were arrested in the Beatrice area on Tuesday as they made it to Harare with Rimai’s stolen white Fun Cargo.
A source at Backpackers confirmed that the suspects were booked at the lodge for two days from Saturday to Sunday and they said that they were in town to visit the Great Zimbabwe Ruins.
Isaac Muchakagara who is also a taxi driver said Rimai met the suspects at the Polytechnic Bus stop and they boarded his taxi with several other passengers to Mashate.
On their way, the suspects asked to hire the car for the rest of the day and they went to Great Zimbabwe, they also went drinking at the rank and later went to Victoria Range for braaing.
At the Victoria Range, the suspects dumped Rimai’s friend Luck Dube who they had spent the whole day with and went back to the lodge. After some time the male suspect severely assaulted Rimai in the room accusing him of proposing love to his girlfriend. He is said to have left the lodge together with his girlfriend carrying an almost lifeless and heavily bleeding Rimai.
A search for the deceased started on Monday after Clemence Mutusva who employed Rimai sent an alert that he was missing his car. The suspects gave a lift to a plain cloth officer on their way to Harare and he became suspicious when the suspect avoided tollgates on the way.
The cop sent a message to his colleagues and a roadblock was set resulting in the arrest of the two suspects on Tuesday.
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