Over 1 100 killings recorded in 2024

Trust Freddy, Herald Correspondent

Police have called for peaceful dispute resolution after over 1 100 killings were recorded last year, with many attributed to remarkably trivial disputes, such as arguments over a chair or a US$1 note.

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday, at a lunch organised by a local security company to discuss ways to curb crimes, presented crime trends in Zimbabwe and how to minimise chances of being victims or minimise potential losses.

Comm Nyathi said there was a surge in killings last year compared to 2023. Every killing is first investigated by police as a murder, although when the culprit is taken to court often a charge of culpable homicide, or blameworthy death, is preferred since there was not intention to kill but still actions that a reasonable person would recognise could lead to serious injury of death.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police recorded 1 085 murder cases in 2023, and in 2024, we recorded 1 115 cases and in the very same year a total of 953 arrests were made, of which 487 were cleared,” Comm Nyathi said.

“Amongst those recorded last year, some involved security personnel who were killed while on duty. However, most of the challenges emanate from disputes, whether marital disputes or otherwise.

“We have also recorded cases where people fought over even US$1, and we have reported cases where somebody fought over a chair, just to say, ‘Move from this chair so that I can sit in a bar’.”

Comm Nyathi said there were disturbing incidents where children were brutally beaten to death over issues such as eating a slice of bread without permission.

“That’s why we are saying we need a total change in our mindset. We need to value human life. In whatever we are doing, whether it’s in the business sector, in the social sector, at the family level, at the common level, we must value human life in whatever we are doing, first,” he added.

To reduce the risk of being victims of robbery, theft, or murder during armed robbery incidents, Comm Nyathi said security organisations, individuals, and businesses can increase supervision and leverage on technology.

“There is a need to regularly monitor and supervise security personnel, employees and business operations to prevent insider complicity.

“There is also need to conduct regular patrols and surveillance in high-risk areas to deter potential criminals and quickly respond to incidents and also leverage technology, such as CCTV cameras, alarms and GPS tracking, to enhance security and facilitate rapid response to incidents.”

Chief Public Prosecutor Mr Clemence Chimbari noted that prosecuting murder cases is a complex process, often marked by challenges that result in backlog.

“Yes, the police are given statistics that they have arrested about 900 or so accused persons for cases of murder and only about 400 or so have been brought to court. “So, what happens with the discrepancies? Maybe these are other cases that the police are still investigating; they haven’t yet finished the investigations.

“These are cases that are still pending, or maybe these are two sets of cases under consideration by the National Prosecuting Authority, which we are considering to indict accused persons for trial in the High Court.”

Culpable homicide cases, the lower charge where there is a killing without the intent to kill of a murder, are usually tried before a regional magistrate rather than a judge sitting with assessors in the High Court.

Peace Security chief executive officer, Dr Abel Mubango said: “We should always be ahead of these criminals and we are working together, the police, ourselves and the general public, so that people share information and learn from what is happening.

“Let’s say a company is hit today, what can we learn from there? What is it that they could have done maybe to try to avoid the armed robbery that took place and also being ahead of security technologies that are coming up in the world and so on, that will help us a lot.”

The meeting garnered significant interest from several industry leaders who attended to share their insights and learn strategies for combating the rising tide of crime. However, he said the NPA was working diligently to clear the backlog, as evident from the recent setup of High Court circuits in provinces.