Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
FORMER police detective Jaison Muvevi, accused of committing four murders and four attempted murders, claimed he was haunted by goblins at the time of the killings.
Muvevi formally faced murder charges yesterday as his trial commenced before High Court judge Justice Gibson Mandaza, sitting with assessors Mr Temba Kuwanda and Mr Hossiah Mujaya.
In a display of cooperation, both the State and the defence agreed to admit the evidence of 29 witnesses by consent, with no objections raised regarding any of the exhibits presented.
However, the State will only call the doctor who conducted Muvevi’s psychiatric evaluation to testify in court.
Following the State’s outline of its case, Muvevi, through his lawyer Ms Jackie Sande, unveiled his defence.
He claimed that he was suffering from a mental illness at the time he committed the alleged crimes.
“State witnesses admit to the fact that on the date of the commission of the offences, except for counts 1 and 2, the accused person was restless and was being haunted by goblins,” said Ms Sande.
The defence further argued that Muvevi’s alleged actions were unprovoked, without motive and carried out in broad daylight in the presence of bystanders, including his own mother praying at a religious shrine.
The lawyer further described Muvevi’s behaviour immediately after the crimes, stating, “That accused person, without any conscience, kicked the bodies of his victims, particularly the officer shot by him.”
This, she argued, was further evidence of a mind unhinged by mental illness.
The court heard that after Muvevi’s arrest, State doctors examined him, diagnosing mental illness and ordering his detention at Chikurubi psychiatric unit.
He had reportedly been undergoing treatment there for three years.
The defence painted a picture of a man tormented internally, disconnected from reality, and unaware of the consequences of his actions.
They pleaded for a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness, urging the court to consider the diagnosis, the unprovoked nature of the attacks, and the accused’s inability to recall the events.
While the State pressed for accountability, the defence insisted on the evidence of mental illness, pointing to the goblins haunting her client as a manifestation of his disturbed state.
The court adjourned to Monday when the psychiatrist will be called to give evidence, and thereafter the court will decide whether Muvevi was a murderer or a man lost to his mind.
The prosecutors allege that Muvevi went on a three-month shooting spree across Harare, Hwedza, and Mutare, killing four people and attempting to kill four others.
The victims who died are Nyarai Round, Chrispen Kanerusine, Inspector Maxwell Hove and Munashe Majani. The survivors include a police detective and a Mutare Boys High School employee.
The shootings allegedly began on November 19, 2022, with the killing of Round in Eastlea, Harare. The motive is unknown.
On January 13, 2023, Muvevi allegedly killed three more people in a few hours.
Prosecutors say the first victim that day was Kanerusine, a prophet in Wedza. Muvevi allegedly shot him in the head after disagreeing with a prophecy.
Police confronted Muvevi in Matsine, blocking his vehicle. Muvevi allegedly shot at them. Inspector Hove, who was unarmed, was shot three times and died. Muvevi allegedly also shot Detective Constable Tendai Mugova, who survived despite being hit three times.
Muvevi took the officers’ guns, returned to his vehicle, and fled. He is accused of later killing Majani, a bartender, at Murambinda business centre. The reason for this killing is unclear.
Muvevi was arrested in Mozambique on January 15, 2023, and extradited to Zimbabwe.
