Tinotenda Hove -LUPANE – The body of Joseph Masvora (24), a police officer based in Lupane who drowned after a tragic boat accident at Bubi-Lupane Dam on Sunday, is yet to be recovered as the search effort enters its fifth day.

Masvora and his friend, Brian Thulani Ngwenya (26) — a Lupane Rural District Council employee and recent graduate of Lupane State University — reportedly drowned when a council-owned boat they were using capsized during a leisure outing.

Ngwenya’s body was recovered and laid to rest on Wednesday in Lupane, but Masvora remains missing. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Sub-Aqua Unit suspended the search on Wednesday evening due to fading daylight, but it is expected to resume on Thursday.

“We have not yet found the body of Joseph Masvora. The team led by ZRP Sub Aqua is on the ground searching,” said Lupane District Development Co-ordinator, Ennety Sithole. “However, due to time, the search party stopped yesterday and will continue today.”

The incident has raised eyebrows and sparked speculation in the local community. According to residents, the two men had reportedly removed their clothes before boarding the boat. Their clothing was later found neatly placed on the riverbank, further deepening the mystery surrounding the accident.

Photographs of the clothes and personal belongings have since made rounds on local WhatsApp groups, with many questioning the circumstances that led the men to undress before venturing into the water.

One resident who declined to be named said, “It just doesn’t make sense. Why would they take off their clothes to go boating? People are starting to suspect there’s more to this story than we are being told.”

As search efforts continue, the community remains on edge, demanding answers and hoping for closure in a case that has left more questions than answers.