Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
FORMER police detective, Jaison Muvevi, who has been sentenced to FOUR LIFE TERMS for killing four people, has joined a Hall of Infamy whose membership includes heartless killers from South Africa to the United States.
Muvevi was handed an additional 40 years for attempting to kill four others.
This means he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Muvevi was convicted of murdering Nyarai Round, Chrispen Kanerusine, Inspector Maxwell Hove and Munashe Majani.
He denied the charges, citing diminished responsibility and claiming he was haunted by goblins at the time of the killings.
Justice Gibson Mandaza, with assessors Temba Kuwanda and Hossiah Mujaya, rejected Muvevi’s defence and found him guilty on all charges following testimony from 29 witnesses.
He joins the Hall of Infamy where serial murders have received four life terms in jail.
Its other members are:
LUNGISANI MDLOLO (SA)
Nicknamed “One Man” he terrorised a community in Soweto where he was involved in murder, rape and armed robbery in 2014.
He was convicted of the charges but in December 2014, “One Man” escaped from custody after judge John Maluleka found him guilty.
Three years later, Judge Maluleka died but he had already prepared a typed judgment, which he could not read, after “One Man” escaped.
“One Man” was arrested in December 2018, together with seven other people, in connection with cash in transit heists.
Another judge then read Judge Maluleka’s judgment in which “One Man” was sentenced to four life terms.
Bryan Kohberger (USA)
He was convicted of the brutal killings of four undergraduates at the University of Idaho in 2022.
He pleaded to the killings and was sentenced to four life terms in prison without parole last year.
Nicholas Tartaglione (USA)
He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in June 2024 for his leadership role in the 2016 murders of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez.
Tartaglione, a former police officer, orchestrated the kidnapping and murders of all four victims on April 11, 2016.
US Attorney Damian Williams said “Nicholas Tartaglione brutally and senselessly murdered Martin Luna over money, and then ruthlessly executed Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“He tried to cover up his crimes by burying all four victims in a shallow grave on his property.”
In Muvevi’s case, State doctors diagnosed him with mild to moderate psychosis during his detention at Chikurubi psychiatric unit.
Psychiatrist Dr Simba Mazorodze testified that while Muvevi showed signs of mental illness, he understood the wrongfulness of his actions, as evidenced by his escape to Mozambique after the murders.
Dr Blessing Dhoropa confirmed Muvevi’s psychosis but ruled out deception or severe mental incapacity.
Muvevi’s defence argued that his actions were unprovoked and irrational, pointing to his erratic behaviour, including kicking the bodies of victims.
Lawyer Jackie Sande highlighted claims of torment by goblins as a driving force for the murders.
Despite this, prosecutors established that Muvevi’s killings across Harare, Wedza and Mutare over three months were calculated.
They detailed how he seized firearms from police after some murders and fled the country before being captured in Mozambique.
Among the dead were Inspector Hove, shot three times, and prophet Kanerusine, executed after a dispute over a prophecy.
Survivors included a detective and a school employee, both targeted during the spree.
With four life sentences and 40 more years, Muvevi will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
