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A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of his grandfather (82), whom he buried in a shallow grave near their homestead.
Blessed Nyashadzashe Mapulani carried out the gruesome attack on the elderly Joel Manyevere in Mugahwa village, under Chief Jiri, in Gokwe South.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, Mapulani struck his grandfather four times with an axe — once on the chest, twice on the neck and once on the shoulder — before attempting to conceal the crime.
Neighbours grew suspicious when Manyevere suddenly disappeared and bloodstains were found around his yard.
Their fears were confirmed when police from ZRP Manoti discovered the body, together with the bloodstained axe used in the murder, buried approximately 800 metres from the homestead.
A post-mortem conducted at the United Bulawayo Hospitals revealed that Joel had died as a result of the savage attack.
Delivering judgment, the High Court sitting in Gokwe condemned the act as “heinous and senseless”.
“Such cruelty towards a defenceless elderly man warrants the harshest punishment,” the court ruled. — Midlands Bureau
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Funeral firm accused of nicking shoes from a corpse
Imagine paying a funeral parlour to give your loved one a dignified send-off, only to discover the deceased’s shoes were stolen, the body was barely washed and the hearse used to transport illegal immigrants.
That is the horror story one grieving family says they endured at the hands of Kingdom Blue Funeral Services, a regional funeral home now mired in yet another scandal.
The company, previously accused of fraud and body mix-ups, now faces allegations of theft, negligence and gross disrespect for the dead.
A family from Bulawayo claims their late relative’s US$100 Chun Sen shoes were stolen from his corpse at the parlour’s Johannesburg branch.
Beven Tshuma, the victim’s brother, took to Facebook accusing the company of exploiting their grief and desecrating his sibling’s body.
“Kingdom Blue is the biggest funeral scammer ever,” he wrote.
“We paid R32 900 cash for my brother’s funeral from Upington to Bulawayo. It turned out to be the worst nightmare of our lives.”
Tshuma said the ordeal began the moment Kingdom Blue took custody of the body.
“He was not properly washed — just splashed with water. When I offered to wash him myself, they refused, saying ‘sesimjovile’, meaning he had been injected and could not be touched.”
The heartbreak deepened when the coffin arrived in Bulawayo.
“I asked for it to be fully opened and saw his shoes were missing. They had been left with the parlour in Johannesburg for dressing. I was furious.”
After Tshuma complained, staff reportedly scrambled to cover up the theft, producing a cheap pair from a street stall and claiming it was a mistake.
“If I had not opened the coffin, they would never have ‘found’ the shoes . . .”
He also accused the company of using its funeral vehicle to illegally transport people across the border.
“On our way back to South Africa, the driver picked up border jumpers to fill empty seats — right in front of us, a mourning family still in pain,” said Tshuma.
“Even with valid passports, we were forced to pay bribes at roadblocks and the border. Other funeral companies were cleared and left us behind. It was a nightmare.”
He described the experience as a betrayal of trust and dignity.
When contacted, Kingdom Blue’s marketing director in Zimbabwe Mbongiseni Ncube dismissed the family’s allegations.
“We are aware of the issue and have since sorted it out. Now that he is writing whatever he wants on Facebook, what does he expect us to do?” he said casually.
This latest scandal adds to the firm’s growing list of shameful episodes.
In 2024, a South African investigative programme exposed Kingdom Blue for failing to honour cash payouts and policies, calling it “a scam disguised as a service”.
A year earlier, two Bulawayo families buried the wrong bodies after a mix-up at the Kelvin branch, prompting relatives to lock the funeral home’s gates in protest.
Now, with fresh accusations of stealing from the dead, the company’s reputation is in tatters.
As for Beven Tshuma and his family, no apology or replacement can erase the trauma of watching their brother’s dignity stripped — both in life and in death.
“Those shoes were stolen, no doubt about it. They only returned them after the burial, long after it no longer mattered. The damage was already done,” added Tshuma.
For a company entrusted with honouring the dead, the parlour stands accused of doing the exact opposite — turning grief into gain and dignity into disgrace. — Bulawayo Bureau
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Beerhall jest sparks fatal axe attack
A night out at a Shurugwi beerhall ended in tragedy when what was meant to be a joke sparked a deadly attack that resulted in the death of a 64-year-old man.
Tonderai Absolom Machiya (36), of Chief Nhema village, appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi facing a murder charge.
The court heard that on February 10, the victim, Johnson Sithole, was drinking at Nyengera Bottle Store at the Shamba Business Centre when he playfully made a vernacular slang joke towards a group of patrons.
What should have been a light-hearted moment quickly turned dark when Machiya took offence.
Witnesses said Machiya stormed off in anger, only to return later wielding an axe.
As Sithole walked home along a footpath, Machiya ambushed him, striking him on the head and stabbing him in the leg.
The next morning, horrified schoolchildren discovered Sithole’s blood-soaked body, triggering panic in the community.
Police launched a manhunt and later arrested Machiya.
He initially pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide, but after a full trial, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Justice Mutevedzi condemned the attack.
“The accused armed himself with a lethal weapon fully aware of the risk his actions posed.
“Human life must never be so cheaply discarded over words spoken in jest. This court has a duty to deter the culture of violence in our communities,” said the judge. — Bulawayo Bureau
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Bulawayo man remanded for brutal domestic assault
A 37-year-old Bulawayo man is behind bars after allegedly attacking his wife with a hoe handle during a domestic dispute.
The attack left her with a deep facial wound.
According to a statement from the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe(NPAZ), the unnamed suspect appeared before the Tredgold Magistrates’ Court facing charges of physical abuse under the Domestic Violence Act.
The incident occurred on September 28, 2025 at the couple’s home in Mzilikazi suburb.
The cause of the altercation was not disclosed. However, the NPAZ said: “The accused assaulted his 32-year-old wife, striking her with a hoe handle on the face and inflicting a deep cut.”
The injured woman reported the matter to the Mzilikazi Police Station, leading to the suspect’s arrest. He has since been remanded in custody to a later date for trial — B-Metro
