Community shocked as Bulawayo businessman shoots himself in the head with a gun

A prominent Bulawayo businessman allegedly shot himself in the head at an outdoor entertainment venue on Sunday afternoon.

The deceased has been identified by police as Khumbulani Nsingo, who owned several bottle stores in the city and reportedly had business interests in Matabeleland South. Police are investigating the death, which they are treating as a suspected suicide.

National police spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the businessman’s death and said investigations into the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting are ongoing. It is reported that Nsingo took his own life by fatally shooting himself in the head with a pistol.

“Police are still investigating the circumstances behind the suicide of the late Khumbulani Nsingo, a businessman in Bulawayo and Matabeleland South Province. The incident occurred on Sunday, and his body has been transferred to a local hospital for post-mortem,” said Commissioner Nyathi.

Commissioner Nyathi also dismissed earlier reports suggesting that the late Nsingo was a member of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) stationed at Bulawayo Central Police Station.

“He was not a member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP),” said Commissioner Nyathi.

Family spokesperson Mr Nhlanhla Nsingo appealed for privacy during their time of mourning.

“We have just lost our brother and we ask for our family’s privacy to be respected,” he said, without elaborating.

According to friends close to the late businessman, he had made references to suicide in the days leading up to his death — remarks they had dismissed as unpleasant jokes.

“Last Friday, he kept saying we should take away his firearm as he was worried he might do something harmful to himself. We thought he was just stressed and needed time to cool off and figure out what was bothering him,” said one close friend, who preferred to remain anonymous.

“On Sunday afternoon, just after midday, we received a call that Khumbu had shot himself in the head and his body was lying at (location withheld), and that police had been called to the scene. He was a jovial guy, and in hindsight, maybe we should have taken away his pistol and encouraged him to speak to someone about the problems he was facing.” Chronicle