RODERICK Mukogo (50), a popular vendor at Chimbwa junction in Hwedza South constituency has been selling different wares for years at the spot that connects Hwedza to the Nyazura-Chivhu Highway.
Last Friday morning, and like all other days, business was brisk as there was a huge influx of travellers.
After toiling for about an hour, he noticed a white Toyota Allion vehicle driving into Hwedza Centre. It pulled over, attracting the attention of hordes of vendors who then swarmed on it, soliciting for sales from the driver.
Mukogo strategically positioned himself adjacent to the driver’s side, oblivious of the fact that he was rubbing shoulders with a potential killer.
“How much are your madora (mopani worms)?” the driver asked as he picked a packet of the traditional delicacy from Mukogo’s dish without even waiting for an answer.
Mukogo’s niece, Nyasha was also lucky that day as the driver approached her and took a can of energy drinks that she was selling, to her delight.
But the vendors were shocked as the driver pulled up his vehicle windows and drove off without paying for the items.
Little did they know that the driver was ex-policeman Jaison Muvevi, later to be labelled Zimbabwe’s most wanted notorious killer.
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“He passed through this place and took a packet of madora from me before leaving without paying for it. He also took a can of energy juice from my niece Nyasha and didn’t pay as well,” Mukogo told NewsDay.
Nyasha said Muvevi’s facial expressions told a story of anger.
“He seemed to be angry. His eyes were red, and he was drinking an alcoholic beverage from a tumbler. I was hurt when he didn't pay us, because that was rude,” Nyasha said.
Later, the vendors got the shock of their lives when social media was awash with stories of how a man with a white Toyota Allion had killed three people. It later dawned to them that this was the same man who had visited Hwedza Centre and took their stuff and drove off without paying.
“When the news of him went viral on social media platforms, all the vendors then recalled everything that had transpired. His picture was now circulating on social media and it was so clear that he was a bad guy as he had mistreated us,” Nyasha said.
After their encounter with Muvevi, the vendors got the shock of their lives when his vehicle returned, and slowly approached the junction. By then, they knew who he was after seeing the social media posts.
They remained glued to their selling points, but there was a strong urge to flee.
“His vehicle was moving slowly, and we remained glued to our positions in fear. He looked at as us but said nothing. He then turned left and went towards Nyazura, still driving slowly,” Nyasha recalled.
On Saturday, Muvevi, a gold dealer was ambushed by the police in the Chiduku area after an exchange of gunfire.
He later fled into the mountains.
For days, both the Chiduku and Makanda areas saw an influx of security details as they searched for the fugitive killer whose heinous acts left the country with many questions than answers.
He was later apprehended in neighbouring Mozambique by law enforcers in that country and brought back to Zimbabwe where he now faces charges of illegal possession of firearms, three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Muvevi’s first murder victim was an Apostolic sect leader identified as Crispen Mubvana Kanerusine whom he gunned down in cold blood as he preached to his congregants in Hwedza. He then shot officer-in-charge of Hwedza Police Station, Inspector Maxwell Hove, and a male bartender identified as Munashe Mujanhi.
The fourth victim, a police constable escaped with gunshot wounds while the fifth one managed to dodge three gunshots.
The Hwedza vendors, however, feel relieved that Muvevi only robbed them of goods worth US$2 but left them alive.
“He acted as if he was possessed, and now we pray that justice be delivered to him accordingly,” Mukogo said.
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