JUSTICE SERVED: Two friends found guilty of murder, sentenced to 27 years

The pair was accused of murdering Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services officer, Tapiwa Mutyasira (29), whose body was dumped along the Mutare-Harare railway line, where it was crushed into pieces by a goods train

Tinotenda Muronzi (26) of Nyahukwe village in Rusape appeared before Rusape magistrate, Mr Tendai Mahwe, who convicted him of robbery and sentenced him to an effective four years after suspending one year on condition of good behaviour.

Anesu Dhliwayo, [email protected]

TWO friends will spend the next 27 years in prison after they were convicted of a murder that occurred in Lower Gweru in 2018.

The duo, Trust Khoza and Hloniphani Nyoni were found guilty of the murder of local businessman Choice Ncube.
In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority in Zimbabwe revealed that on 26 June 2018, Ncube walked into Folomani Bar at Masa Business Centre in Lower Gweru, where he was confronted by Nyoni over a 2017 grudge.
Subsequently, Nyoni tried to attack Ncube with an axe but was disarmed by another patron.

“The situation escalated when the two offenders dragged Ncube out of the bar, forced him into a donkey-drawn scotch cart and took him away. What followed was a brutal, prolonged beating with logs, wooden sticks, a knobkerrie, and a rubber whip.

“Despite several witnesses pleading with them to stop, the offenders continued to assault the now deceased for over five hours from midnight until dawn. Ncube was found unconscious and naked the next morning, his body swollen and bruised, bleeding from the mouth,” reads the statement.

Ncube died upon arrival at Gweru Provincial Hospital. The offenders were arrested on the spot by local neighbourhood watch members.