Trisa Ray Sibanda
A 33-year-old man reportedly hanged himself in a holding cell at a Plumtree police station.
The incident happened on 30 December last year.
However, his relatives suspect foul play.
The deceased, Conscious Sibanda, was found lying face up with the rope around his neck still intact, a sign that he might have been strangled, his relatives say.
They wonder why he was not found hanging since the rope that he is alleged to have used to hang himself was not broken
Friends and relatives say Sibanda was murdered and are anxiously waiting for the results of a post-mortem, which was conducted at UBH in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
“There was some kind of foul play in the whole exercise. Something is not adding up and this is very worrisome.
Apparently, they are hiding something from us,” said Talent Sibanda, a relative of the deceased.
Sibanda had been arrested for shoplifting. He is alleged to have tried to sodomise a man he was sharing a cell with.
He is said to have killed himself after charges of sodomy were laid against him.
Talent revealed that the family, especially the deceased’s parents, were struggling to cope with their son’s death. He said the family was hopeful the post mortem would reveal the truth.
National Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said police are investigating the death of Conscious Sibanda.
“We are investigating the death of the suspect in police cells. There are reports that he tried to sodomise his cellmates. We are also investigating those allegations,” said Nyathi.
