Charity Charamba said their investigations had not established any evidence the fire was caused by a petrol bomb attack. In the first place, other methods other than a bomb attack could have been used to set the grass thatched hut on fire, so the fact that is was not a bomb used to set the house on fire does not rule out foul play.
Charamba goes on to say that “there is high probability that ammonium nitrate and tobacco chemicals exploded during the fire”, and that should be expected because the chemicals reacted to the heat caused by the fire which had already started and exploded. Again, that piece of evidence does not rule out foul play.
Charamba reports that a paraffin lamp was recovered close to bags of fertilizer and tobacco chemicals in the gutted thatched hut. Again that can be expected because in the rural areas, many people use paraffin lamps. I wonder if the police investigating the case asked the surviving children if the lamp was left on.
Interestingly, the father of the late Christpower reported that he had been threatened with death for wanting to contest against Dydmus Mutasa by Zanu (PF) officials a few days before the fire. Wasn’t there reason for police to suspect foul play there? Names of suspects were given, and probably these names include people who had made these threats to Shepherd Maisiri. These people were never questioned.
And to prove beyond down that there is foul play in this case, Central Intelligence officials drove to the home in a car with no number plates. This certainly raises eyebrows.
To make matters worse, Dydmus Mutasa lied that Maisiri was a member of Zanu (PF).
It is obvious the police did not do their job well, either because of incompetence, or because they were under instruction not to expose Dydmus Mutasa.
Christpower may have been disabled, he may have been a poor boy, born to poor parents, but he was a human being, and every human being deserves justice, even in their death.
Post published in: Letters to the Editor