Murder cases choke courts

Sunday Mail Reporter

CLOSE to 380 murder cases were brought before the courts since the beginning of the year, with the High Court in Harare accounting for most of them — 91 — in the January to June period, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Harare also handles cases from Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces.

The Chinhoyi High Court, which deals with matters from Mashonaland West province, recorded the second-highest number of homicide cases — 80 — in the same period.

In total, 48 matters went through the Hwange High Court, which handles cases from Matabeleland North province.

The Bulawayo High Court, which hears cases reported in Bulawayo Metropolitan and Matabeleland South provinces, has dealt with 44 murder cases, while the Mutare High Court had 41.

The Mutare High Court has jurisdiction over matters reported around Manicaland province.

In addition, the Masvingo High Court handled 38 cases, while 35 matters were heard by the Gweru High Court.

In one of the cases presently before the courts in Harare, Paul Mutezo, of Epworth, is accused of murdering his wife, whom he suspected of infidelity.

Sometime last month, Mutezo is alleged to have sneaked out of bed just after midnight with the intention of going through his wife Tsitsi Munemo’s cellphone for suspicious messages.

He, however, failed to unlock it.

He then decided to wake her up but she refused as the couple had an altercation over the same issue earlier on.

In a fit of rage, Mutezo fetched an iron bar, which he used to attack his wife several times, leaving her with deep cuts on her head.

Tsitsi later died upon admission to a hospital as a result of the injuries.

Mutezo was later arrested and is currently remanded in custody.

He is expected in court on Wednesday for routine remand.

Nearly 3 500 murder cases were recorded in Zimbabwe between January 2020 and December 2021, statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency show.

Zimbabwe has recorded an increase in violent crimes in recent years, prompting police to set up a specialised task force.