Claim: A 22-year-old woman was shot dead in Burnside, Bulawayo by her Kwekwe-based boyfriend on 5 November 2022 around 0100hours.
Source: Social Media posts
Verdict: Incorrect
A video showing an unidentified man shooting a woman at close range has gone viral on social media with some claiming the incident took place in Bulawayo’s Burnside suburb on 5 November.
The 14-second video shows a barefoot woman wearing a bum short and a green top with a bottle of water in hand walking into a room with a man who was capturing the incident following closely behind her. The unidentified man whips out a gun and shoots the woman.
A story purported to have been published by an online news portal, Bulawayo24, seemed to authenticate the rumour with some people circulating the story as confirmation that the incident took place in the city.
According to the article titled, ‘Bulawayo woman shot dead in cold blood’, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) sent out an appeal to the public to assist with information in connection with a cold-blooded murder case in which a 22-year-old woman was shot dead by her Kwekwe boyfriend, Musa Dube, in Burnside, Bulawayo on 5 November 2022 at around 0100hours.
The story went on to say that according to the police, the suspect who was armed with a CZ pistol informed his cousin, Thune Moyo that he was going to shoot her girlfriend for dumping him for another man.
“Police recovered six 9mm cartridges in the passage of the deceased’s house. Police say they have intensified investigations on this matter with a view of arresting the suspect and ensuring that the law will take its course,” read parts of the story.
Is there a police report?
Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele says the police have not received any report of such a case.
“I am still looking for it. Maybe you can assist me as journalists from where it is emanating from because I have been searching since morning with all the stations, I don’t have that case,” said Assistant Inspector Msebele.
Did Bulawayo24 publish the article?
A quick search on Bulawayo24.com shows that the story was never published on the site. The person who created the story embedded a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-216232.html. of a similar incident which took place in Harare.
Conclusion
An incident captured on video showing a woman being shot dead at close range did not take place in Bulawayo’s Burnside suburb as widely circulated on social media. The Zimbabwe Republic Police through the Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed that there is no such case.
