Zimbabwe murder hunt after bodies found at bottom of well
Two Britons were missing for over a month in Zimbabwe before their bodies were found in a well in an exclusive Harare suburb.
The men were named as Kenny James Froud, 39, and Simon Buckley, 40, and British High Commission spokeswoman Gillian Dare confirmed today that both were Britons.
A nationwide manhunt is under way for two Zimbabwean men wanted in connection with the killings, which are believed to have taken place in an apartment near the well.
The victims’ bodies were weighted down with building blocks in 30 feet of water. One body had a rope around the neck, said police assistant commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena.
A state radio broadcast said the public were warned not to approach the suspects, as they could be dangerous.
Bvudzijena said most of the victims’ belongings had been stolen from the apartment they shared.
The bodies were found when a security guard went to draw water from the well.
Local relatives and friends in Zimbabwe had been anxious about their whereabouts for some time, said Ms Dare, but police said they were only contacted when newspapers reported the discovery of their bodies, which were not identified at that stage.
Despite widespread economic distress, with inflation exceeding 600% in the past year and two million people dependent on food relief, Zimbabwe has a low crime rate compared to neighbouring Zambia and South Africa.
The country retains the death penalty for murder. More than 50 men, including two Frenchmen, have been hanged since independence from Britain in 1980.
