Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku, [email protected]
A MURDER and armed robbery suspect who was arrested in 2025 after being on the run for 15 years appeared in court facing fresh charges involving contraventions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, namely counterfeiting, falsifying or causing to be falsified or counterfeited any register or any entry therein, as well as defeating the course of justice.
Justin Mpofu appeared this week on Monday before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Patience Madondo. He was not asked to plead and only confirmed the allegations he is facing.
Mpofu is a self-actor and was remanded in custody to 5 February for the commencement of trial.
Prosecuting, Ms Josephine Gurazhira told the court that Mpofu had been deported from South Africa, where he had been hiding for 15 years. He was wanted by the Zimbabwe Republic Police in connection with murder and armed robbery charges.
“Mpofu was wanted by detectives from the Homicide Section on allegations that he and his accomplices fatally shot Peter Sithole in 2010. Following the shooting, they stole ZAR28, two speakers, two mobile phones and an amplifier from a bottle store. Mpofu had been hiding in South Africa and was deported earlier this year,” said Ms Gurazhira.
Upon his return, Mpofu allegedly devised a plan to evade arrest.
He approached Ms Sobala Ngwenya, her accomplices Ms Sibonginkosi Tshuma, and Ms Hilda Moyo to assist him in changing his identity to Ryan Ncube. They charged him US$300 for the service.
“Moyo informed a Civil Registry official stationed at Nyamandlovu that she had known Mpofu since childhood and that his father, the late Justin Ncube, had died some years ago.
“They then bribed the Civil Registry official, and it was agreed that Mpofu’s age would be reduced during the processing of the new national identity card. Ngwenya posed as Mpofu’s mother and claimed that Ncube was her ex-husband,” Ms Gurazhira added.
The trio also approached a village head, Tswapi Mpofu of Village 6A Deli, Nyamandlovu, who confirmed in writing that the suspect was born in his village and was the son of the late Justin Ncube.
The court heard that their cover was blown when detectives from Homicide arrested Mpofu, after discovering that he had been masquerading as Ryan Ncube and had obtained a forged national identity card under that name.
Upon interrogation, Mpofu confessed to fraudulently acquiring the identity card with the assistance of Ngwenya and her co-accused.
Ngwenya, Tshuma and Moyo were arrested last year by detectives from the Homicide section and were sentenced to pay a fine of US$300 failure to which they will face six months imprisonment.
