Roebuck's death: Zimbabwean orphanage to launch separate probe

A Zimbabwean businessman, who is also the chairman of the St Joseph's House for Boys in Harare from where Peter Roebuck adopted many young men, has decided to launch his own investigation into the deceased cricket writer's association with the organisation.

According to a report in The Australian, Brian Maphosa, the chairman of the organisation that cares for orphaned and abandoned boys, said Roebuck had visited the institution many times and was a member of it's Facebook page.

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"He developed a passion for the home and has over the years taken a number of our boys for further studies in South Africa. He has impacted on these boys who upon attaining the age of 18 are no longer the responsibility of the home," Maphosa said.

Roebuck committed suicide last week by plunging to death from the sixth floor room of his hotel in Cape Town where he had gone to cover the Test series between Australia and South Africa after being reportedly questioned for alleged sexual assault of a male Facebook friend.

Maphosa said he never met Roebuck since taking over the charge in 2003 and so he was not in a position to comment on the allegations of sexual abuse against the 55-year-old former Somerset captain.

"It's a side of the happenings I was not aware of, and (I) will also do my own investigations," he said.

"The boys he was also dealing with were over the age of 18 so they were no longer our responsibility as such," he added.

The St Joseph's House for Boys was established in 1936 and takes care of about 55 under-18 boys, who are either abandoned or orphaned.