AN explosive device detonated at a house in Sunningdale, Harare, yesterday afternoon killing one person and seriously injuring another.
BY MOSES MATENGA STAFF REPORTER The yet-to-be identified explosive is believed to have been brought by a stranger.
Residents in the high-density suburb said the device, suspected to be a landmine, went off after the deceased, identified as Moses Mudefi, attempted to open it with a grinder.
Fragments of the device also destroyed the precast concrete wall at Mudefi’s workshop, popularly known as “Chimbare-Mbare” and asbestos sheets at neighbouring properties.
Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tedious Chibanda last night said he had not received the report, but police officers at the scene said they were engaging officers from CID to investigate the cause of the explosion. Incidentally, the blast happened only a few metres from the spot where 11 people were burnt to ashes and several others injured in 2011 after a fuel tanker overturned and exploded.
“Two people came here around 3 o’clock with something they wanted opened,” said an eyewitness.
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“They gave him (Mudefi) the object and they pretended to be chatting on the phone while walking away. When the thing exploded, they both fled.”
Another witness, a builder, said he was working on a house a few metres away when he heard a loud explosion.
“When I went to check, I saw Moses lying lifeless with one side of his body badly damaged. There was what looked like a huge hole in his face. Another person was seriously injured and rushed to hospital,” said the witness.
Hundreds of residents jostled to catch a glimpse of the corpse while relatives of the deceased said they were not ready to speak to the Press.
The incident brought back memories of last year’s blast in Chitungwiza where a traditional healer and five others died after a local businessman brought an explosive device to him to retrieve what was supposed to be “red mercury” contained in it.
Last year, national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba warned the public against tampering with suspicious gadgets, saying cases of people being killed or maimed by explosives while in search of “red mercury” were on the increase.