Female Conductor Shot Dead In Harare

Lloyd Ndemo

A female bus conductor with Zimbabwe’s public transport utility Zupco was shot dead on Monday night by an unknown assailant in Harare’s Dzivarasekwa suburb.

The now deceased has been identified as Joyce Kuzhumba. Police say they are yet to establish the motive behind the shooting as nothing was taken from the deceased.

“I can confirm the shooting incident of a Zupco female conductor by unknown gunman. As police we are yet to establish the motive behind the shooting,” said national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.

However, witnesses and relatives of the deceased say she was shot in an attempted robbery.

The late Joyce’s uncle, Joel Tazviwana told ZTN that his niece was killed in a robbery attempt. Tazviwana said he was told by the bus driver that the suspect tried to snatch a handbag from Joyce as he disembarked from the bus, but she resisted resulting in the suspect pulling out a gun and shooting her once in the head.

A ZTN news crew visited the crime scene around 10 am on Tuesday and found police officers still removing Joyce’s body from the bus.

Some Dzivarasekwa residents expressed shock at the shooting and called on authorities to increase security on public buses.

“It is sad that these heartless criminals choose to kill a young girl who was working towards her dreams and making an honest living. “Her life was cut short. Hopefully authorities will tighten security on these buses especially those
working on late night shifts,” they said.