A yet to be identified homeless Bulawayo woman was found dead on a pavement in the city centre on Monday morning.
While the cause of death is yet to be ascertained, exposure to cold temperatures cannot be ruled out.
According to the Meteorological Services Department, the city has been recording low temperatures of around 9 degrees celsius.
When a CITE news crew arrived on the scene along George Silundika Street and 10th avenue, the body of the deceased had been placed in a police metal coffin and awaiting transportation to the mortuary.
A newspaper vendor, Hilton Nyathi said when he last saw the deceased yesterday she looked fine.
“I was shocked when I got here in the morning, to find the police and City Council officials disinfecting the deceased’s body. I last saw yesterday and she was fine,” said Nyathi.
He said the now deceased was someone who used to sleep in the street corridor and could pass-by begging for money.
“What I know about this woman is that she used to be a vendor in areas around Mbembesi but it seems thieves took her goods and she started having a mental problem, she came to stay here. There was a time when she was no longer coming here and we suspected that she was at Ingutsheni Hospital but she came back here two months ago,” said Nyathi.
Bulawayo Police Spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube had not received the report when contacted for a comment.
