shloboe boe
A FORMER death row inmate has been resentenced to two life terms in prison for the brutal murders of his workmates in 2013.
The ruling, handed down last Thursday by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa, follows the Government’s recent abolition of the death penalty — a landmark decision that spared 48 inmates from execution.
Pardon Mpofu, who was 28 years old at the time of the crimes, was convicted of two counts of murder after fatally attacking his co-workers in separate incidents at Paddock 14, Cold Storage Commission’s Winter Block Ranch in Umguza.
The prosecutor, Mr Kudakwashe Jaravaza, told the court that Mpofu killed Nhlanhla Dube (21) and Pilate Moyo (28) in cold blood.
On 5 October 2013, Mpofu returned late from a local business centre, leading to a heated argument with Dube, who complained about being overburdened with work in Mpofu’s absence. That evening, tensions escalated when Dube refused to eat the dinner Mpofu had prepared, suspecting it was poisoned.
The following morning, Mpofu saw Dube sitting on the veranda, holding an axe. Sensing an opportunity, Mpofu went inside, retrieved a cultivating hoe, and struck Dube on the neck, killing him instantly. He then dumped Dube’s body in a septic tank, covering it with a lid.
The next day, Mpofu encountered Moyo standing on the veranda, dressed in shorts. Without provocation, he picked up a knobkerrie and struck Moyo on the head, killing him on the spot. He then disposed of Moyo’s body in the same septic tank.
After the killings, Mpofu looted Moyo’s belongings, taking clothes, a blanket, three mobile phones, a satchel, and US$5.
In delivering the sentence, Justice Kabasa dismissed Mpofu’s claim that he had acted in self-defence.
“The court found that the defence outline, which claimed that Mpofu and the victims had fought before he retaliated, was untrue. The murders were premeditated and calculated,” she ruled.
The court determined that Mpofu had full awareness of his actions, rejecting his claim that he was not in control at the time. He was consequently found guilty of murder with actual intent in both counts.
Mpofu was originally sentenced to death, but his fate changed following President Mnangagwa’s recent signing of the Death Penalty Abolition Act (Chapter 9:26) (No. 4 of 2024) into law. The legislation prohibits courts from imposing death sentences under any circumstances, replacing them with long-term imprisonment.
Zimbabwe carried out its last execution in 2005, but until last year, capital punishment remained a legal penalty.
The country’s decision to scrap the death sentence reflects a broader shift towards rehabilitation over retribution in the justice system.
Following the enactment of the new law, all 48 prisoners on death row had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Online Reporter