A 20-year-old man linked to the murder of five homeless people in Harare and disembowelling them before eating some of their body parts has appeared in court.
The suspect, Thandolwenkosi Ndlovu (20), alias Sauro, is believed to have been targeting street kids who were fast asleep. He would crush their heads and then open their stomachs to remove their genitals and other body parts. He would then boil or braai the human parts on an open fire and consume them.
Ndlovu appeared in a Harare court on Tuesday and the magistrate granted police to further detain him until September 7.
In a statement, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the murders occurred between August 28 and September 4.
Ndlovu was arrested after police detectives tracked him down along Rotten Row Road in Harare. He had allegedly tried to attack another street kid.
Asst Comm Nyathi said Ndlovu has also been linked to three murder cases committed in Bulawayo in 2020 where he crushed a victim’s head in Bellevue Suburb using a brick after he found him drunk and asleep in his yard, in January 2020.
“In December 2020, he crushed a victim’s head in Makokoba Suburb after finding him asleep by the road side. He again crushed another victim’s head using stones at Sekusile Shopping Centre, Nkulumane after finding him sleeping in a pavement. He then fled to Harare,” he said.
“The suspect is also facing a charge of attempted murder and has a warrant of arrest for a robbery case which occurred in Milton Park, Harare in June 2021. We have not found any evidence to link the recent murder cases committed by the suspect to ritual killings.”
