By Tatenda Mujeyi
A pastor with a local Pentecostal church is suspected to have committed suicide by jumping off a 4th floor parking bay at the Parkade centre located on the corner of Julius Nyerere and Jason Moyo avenue.
At the time of going to print, the reasons for the suspected suicide were unclear as witnesses and fellow pastors to the deceased gave varying opinions.
On-lookers and a fellow pastor to the deceased Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe Bishop Berry Dambaza said that the suicide was induced by a marital affair.
“The news that we have gathered is he found his wife in bed with another fellow church member and he could not come to terms with the experience,” a fellow pastor who denied to be named said.
A senior Pastor with the Pentecostal Assemblies refuted the claims and argued that the circumstances leading to the suspected suicide were yet to be clarified as police were still investigating the case.
“We were supposed to have a meeting with other pastors but we are here now after learning of the unfortunate incident. I can neither confirm nor deny the assumption that there was an issue of an extra marital affair. What I know however is that the wife was attending to the deceased’s mother who was sick in hospital and we have told her to go home where our other fellow church members are gathered,” Pentecostal Assemblies Senior Pastor Bishop Trevor Manhanga said.
The owners of the premise were the suspected suicide occurred said one of their employees had seen the deceased before the he allegedly committed suicide and spoke to him.
“One of our employees saw the deceased before he jumped and they spoke to him. He alerted the employee that he was experiencing problems of some nature but did not disclose. He was only surprised to learn later on that the man had jumped to his death. He was a customer of ours as he parked here constantly,” City Parking Public Relations Manager Francis Mandaza said.
A suicidal note found in his possession seemed to claim that the action was induced by financial challenges and marital issues but the police were still holding it as evidence.
