Online Reporter
Peter Matika, [email protected]
A 40-year-old man from Kwekwe has been convicted of the gruesome murder of his in-laws, whom he savagely attacked with a blunt object and an axe during a violent domestic dispute in 2022. The convicted killer, Tafireyi Ndlovu, launched the fatal assault on his wife’s parents in the dead of night, leaving a scene of horror and heartbreak.
Following the brutal murders, he abducted his wife, prompting manhunt for him.
Ndlovu has been in custody since his arrest and is expected to be sentenced on June 26.
According to High Court records, Ndlovu committed the crime on April 14, 2022, when he murdered Mr Xolani Mpofu, who was 40 years old at the time of his death and Ms Sibalungele Ncube, who was 56. After the murders, he burned their bodies in a kitchen hut.
The case was heard by High Court Judge Justice Ngoni Nduna and Mr Kudakwashe Jaravaza represented the State.
The document stated that the now deceased were from Madabe Village, Chief Wasi, Plumtree. Ndlovu was their son-in-law and lived at Leon Farm, Sherwood, Kwekwe. He was married to their daughter, Nomsa.
It was revealed during the trial that Ndlovu and his wife, had marital problems largely fuelled by his deep resentment towards her teenage son from a previous relationship. As tensions escalated, Nomsa left their matrimonial home in Botswana and returned to Zimbabwe to live with her parents. On the night of April 13, 2022, at around 10pm, her parents chose to sleep outside their bedroom hut due to the intense heat inside.
At about 2am, Nomsa awakened by the noise of her parents screaming for help. When she opened the bedroom door to investigate, she came face to face with Ndlovu, who swung an axe at her but missed.
She quickly retreated into the hut, where she witnessed the accused and an accomplice, Kudzanai Muthukuthu, who remains at large, viciously attacking her father with a log, striking him repeatedly across the body.
It was reported that Ndlovu ordered Nomsa to come out of the hut, and she complied.
“She observed that Mr Mpofu’s hand had been broken. The accused, along with Muthukuthu, demanded the deceased’s cell phones, which were handed over to them. The accused then dragged Mr Mpofu into the hut and ordered Nomsa to follow him inside.”
“Later, he took the deceased outside the hut. After a while, the accused instructed Nomsa to come outside, at which point she noticed that both deceased were motionless,” read the court document.
Ndlovu and Muthukuthu reportedly ordered Nomsa to drag her parents’ bodies into the kitchen hut. They then demanded that she pack all her clothes. Muthukuthu forcibly took Nomsa from the homestead while Ndlovu set the kitchen hut on fire.
Ndlovu and Muthukuthu then marched Nomsa to an undisclosed entry point and fled the country to Botswana.
According to the court documents, on April 15, Nomsa was still being held captive by Ndlovu and Muthukuthu when police officers on patrol intercepted them, leading to the arrest of Ndlovu. At the time he committed the double murder, Ndlovu was 37 years old.
