Online Reporter
B-Metro
TWO men have been sentenced to 45 years each behind bars for the gruesome murder of a prison officer whose body was dumped on a railway line and crushed by a train.
Brighton Gowero (29) and Takunda Makoni (21) brutally murdered Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services officer Tapiwa Mutyasira (29) before staging the scene to look like a tragic rail accident.
Between and 4 March 2023, Gowero and Makoni, acting with an accomplice known only as Courage, who is still on the run, assaulted Mutyasira with unknown objects, inflicting fatal injuries. After the brutal attack, they stole his two cellphones and dumped his body on the Mutare-Harare railway line in Chikanga in a desperate bid to cover up the crime.
“The deceased’s remains were later run over by a goods train, whose driver initially mistook the body for discarded material on the track,” the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said in a statement.
A post-mortem at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital confirmed that the officer died from polytrauma — multiple injuries sustained during a violent assault. The revelation sent shockwaves through Mutare, with residents describing the act as “cold-blooded and heartless.”
Justice finally caught up with the killers when they were each handed 45-year prison terms for the murder. It was not disclosed how they were linked to the crime or how they were arrested.
The NPAZ reminded the public that life is sacred and no grievance justifies such barbarity.
“The NPAZ urges members of the public to respect the sanctity of life and to resolve disputes without resorting to violence.
As a society, we must uphold the dignity and value of every human being,” read the statement.
Police are still hunting for the fugitive, Courage, believed to be hiding in Manicaland.
