Bridget Makaza jailed for 27 years for murder

Nyore Madzianike

Onine Reporter

A Harare woman, Bridget Makaza, has been sentenced to 27 years behind bars for intentionally killing her husband and proprieter of Kurai Coaches, MaCloud Zvavovavaviri Mapanga, in a cold-blooded and calculated murder committed at the couple’s Harare home in 2018.

Makaza was found guilty last week of killing her husband, Mapanga, in the early hours of May 14, 2018.

She fatally shot her husband three times using a 38 Amadeo Rossi revolver, with erased serial numbers, while he was asleep.

Makaza first shot Mapanga on the right shoulder, while another bullet hit him above the left shoulder and a third grazed the neck before penetrating the right shoulder.

She then attempted to cover up the crime by alleging an armed robbery had taken place at their Belvedere residence.

She claimed that the intruders had entered the home, shot her husband and stole US$12 000 from the wardrobe.

Amid the panic that followed, she drove to a swampy area where she disposed of the firearm and a pair of latex gloves she had worn during the shooting.

From there, she went to Mabelreign Police Station to report the fabricated robbery. Police investigations quickly unravelled her story.

No signs of forced entry were found and forensic ballistic analysis later confirmed that the projectiles recovered from the deceased’s body had been fired from the same firearm she had attempted to conceal.

The revolver and gloves were recovered through her own indications. The court heard that Makaza had travelled to South Africa on May 2, 2018, where she bought the gun she used in the murder.

After being placed on remand, she was granted bail but fled to the United Kingdom, only to be re-arrested upon her return in December 2024.

A post-mortem examination determined that Mapanga died from traumatic shock, lung and liver ruptures and shotgun injuries.

In her defence, Makaza claimed a long history of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her husband, detailing repeated assaults, forced intimacy, infidelity and psychological trauma.

She said she killed her husband following a violent confrontation in which the deceased had accused her of witchcraft and threatened her life.

According to her version of events, a struggle ensued between them over the firearm, during which three shots were accidentally discharged.

She also alleged that her confession had been extracted under duress and torture and denied buying the gun herself.

High Court judge, Justice Emilia Muchawa, rejected her defence.

In her ruling, Justice Muchawa, said the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to premeditation.

“Our findings are that the accused person planned to execute the deceased. To set this in motion, she travelled to South Africa, soon after her return from the United Kingdom, to procure the murder weapon,” Justice Muchawa said.

“She conveniently flew into South Africa and used the road back to smuggle the murder weapon into Zimbabwe. She then waited for a convenient time. It fell on May 14, 2018 and around 3 am when the deceased, who had returned from work around 11 pm, was fast asleep. She aimed at the upper part of his body and delivered three fatal shots to the shoulders and neck. To cover up her crime, she staged an unlawful entry and robbery.

“She shouted, ‘thief, thief’. She left the deceased seriously injured, without rendering any assistance or calling the ambulance and slipped away in the ensuing confusion. She went alone presumably to lodge a report, but, as confessed, her priority was to dispose of the firearm and related items, including the gloves which she had worn when shooting the deceased.

“To sanitise her disposal trip, the accused passed through Mabelreign Police Station and reported a robbery. This story was sustained throughout until interrogations led to her confession and the indications she made leading to the recovery of the firearm. The conduct of the accused before, during and after the murder led us to unequivocally conclude that the accused unlawfully and with intent to kill, shot MaCloud Zvavovaviri (Mapanga).”