Moffat Mungazi
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
FIVE of the seven armed robbers who besieged a gold mine in Penhaloga, near Mutare, killing one of the workers, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The five were convicted of murder, and sentenced to 30 years in prison by Mutare High Court Judge, Justice Isaac Muzenda.
The deceased was identified as Kudakwashe Mapisa.
The convicts are Nyasha Moyana of Chireya Village, Chief Chireya, Gokwe; Stewart Chiradza of Munyoro Village, Chief Marange; Aleck Ncube of Nemangwe Village, Chief Chireya, Gokwe; Nigel Brian Kadzura Chivengwa of Newengo Village, Chief Mutasa and Gilson Mubvumi of Dhiura Village, Chief Neuso, Sanyati Gokwe.
They were found guilty under Section 47 (1) (a) or (b) Section 196 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.
Taurai Chitera of Pasu Village, Chief Mukoka, Gokwe and Tinashe Muzaeni of Dangamvura, Mutare were given lesser sentences.
Justice Muzenda subsequently sentenced Moyana, Chiradza, Ncube, Chivengwa and Mubvumi to 30 years in jail, while Chitera was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
Muzaeni was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment which was wholly suspended.
In arriving at his judgment, Justice Muzenda considered that Chitera was 18 at the commissioning of the offence, while Muzaeni was not convicted of murder, but as an accessory to robbery.
The trial revealed that on December 24, 2024, seven robbers from various parts of the country, armed with machetes, mattocks, and knives, stormed Raymond Joffresse Gold Mineshaft around 3am.
They took the deceased and other workers hostage at the site, robbed them of ore, and forced the employees to carry the sacks of ore to the surface.
Testifying in court, the late Mapisa’s workmate, Christopher Masvaure, said after a night of work, the group retired to separate plastic sheds near the shaft, while him (Masvaure) and the deceased remained underground.
Two individuals only identified as Kudakwashe and Lee arrived seeking employment, but Masvaure referred them to the shaft’s owner, and they left.
Shortly thereafter, a group of around 10 accused persons arrived at the mineshaft.
Masvaure said they were all armed with mattocks, iron bars, machetes and huge knives, and attacked the two, demanding to know to know the number of sacks containing gold ore that were underground.
One of them throttled him, while another one searched him, and took away a cellphone and US$134.
Masvaure testified that he witnessed the accused persons forcing his colleague into the mineshaft, while he was force-marched to the shed where the deceased was sleeping.
Masvaure managed to escape, but fell into a disused shaft, where he hid until around 6am.
He later emerged and went to Liverpool, where he and other employees apprehended Chivengwa, who subsequently led them to his accomplices. Masvaure filed a report at ZRP Penhalonga, and was later informed that Mapisa had succumbed to the injuries sustained during the fracas.
Jotham Tachiona, a colleague of the deceased, testified that on the night of December 24, he was working at the mineshaft with the deceased and other employees when they attacked by the machete wielding gang.
He recounted that the accused persons, armed with weapons, threatened and forced them to descend into the mineshaft.
While underground, Tachiona was stabbed with a knife by one of the accused.
The attackers eventually exited the shaft after removing all the bags of ore.
At around 7am, Tachiona discovered that his colleague had been found dead in the mineshaft.
Upon retrieval of the body, he observed a deep cut on the deceased’s head.
The court further heard that the seven robbers stole valuables, assaulted the deceased on the head, and shoved him into the mineshaft.
The deceased’s remains were retrieved on the same day.
A post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was severe head trauma.
Principal prosecutor, Mrs Jane-Rose Matsikidze prosecuted.
Online Reporter