Police in Zimbabwe have arrested a soldier and charged him with murder after he threw a passenger off a moving train following a dispute, a police spokesman told AFP Monday.
The independent Daily News, however, claimed the victim, university student Lameck Chemvura, was thrown out the train by a group of soldiers for allegedly supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The paper said the group had kicked and beaten Chemvura before strangling him with a shoelace and throwing him out of a train window.
Police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena told AFP that Chemvura had a "misunderstanding" with one soldier, not a group, which resulted in a fight during which Chemvura was thrown out of the train.
He, however, could not confirm the newspaper's claim about a shoelace being used, nor could he give reasons for the fight. He said the incident occurred near Nyazura, around 140 kilometers (85 miles) southeast of Harare.
Tensions have been high in the country recently following the slaying of two ruling party supporters, one of them a war veteran leader, allegedly strangled with a shoelace. Government has blamed the murders on MDC "terrorists".
The MDC have denied the "terrorism" and murder charges -- Harare (AFP)
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