The body of a middle-aged Chinhoyi woman was found dumped in a maize field in Hunyani suburb Sunday.
Mariah Tagarira, popularly known as Kabhara or Amai Kumbi, was a well-known firewood vendor in the neighbourhood.
She was a caretaker of a semi-complete house where she has lived over the years and her body was discovered a few metres from her home.
The body was discovered by vendors who operate nearby stalls around 4 PM on Sunday in a maize field near the Methodist Church building.
A former Ward 4 councillor, Brighton Mhizha, called on the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to increase patrols in the area. Said Mhizha:
I was shocked by what l saw. When police arrived to convey the body to the mortuary, they noticed evidence her attackers could have raped her before killing her.
This is a very sad incident that calls for police to increase patrols in our area.
Chinhoyi residents expressed their grief and shock on social media and demanded that the police arrest the perpetrators.
It is now dangerous to pass through the stretch around the Chafa area linking Gadzema and Hunyani suburbs late at night as several people have been victims of muggings.