Online Reporter
Midlands Bureau
A TEENAGE artisanal miner has been slammed with a 25-year jail term after viciously stabbing a fellow miner to death in a bloody fight over a portable radio.
Gerald Gombe (18) of Village 5, Chironde area under Chief Nhema, appeared before a Bulawayo High Court judge on circuit in Gweru charged with murder. He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, but the court threw out his plea and convicted him of murdering Vasco Masara (33) of Village 17, Tokwe 3, Shurugwi.
Prosecutor Mr Thomson Hove told the court that on December 17, 2022, at around 6pm, Masara was in his cabin at Nduku Mine Wonderer when a heated dispute erupted with Gombe’s accomplice, Tadiwa Chirimuuta, who is still on the run.
“The altercation was over a radio which was inside the deceased’s cabin. Gombe, who was some meters away, was called by Chirimuuta and armed himself with a knife while Chirimuuta grabbed an axe,” said Mr Hove.
The duo then pounced on Masara.
“The accused person stabbed the deceased several times all over the body and his accomplice used an axe handle to strike the deceased. They then fled, leaving him bleeding,” he added.
Masara was rushed to Shurugwi District Hospital, where he died upon admission. A post-mortem at United Bulawayo Hospitals later revealed that he died from hypovolemic shock caused by multiple stab wounds.
State witness Mr Lloyd Matambo, Masara’s uncle, said he witnessed the dispute moments before tragedy struck.
“Masara refused to hand over the radio, saying he wanted his wife to explain how it ended up in their cabin,” he told the court.
Minutes later, Matambo met Gombe and Chirimuuta, who were wielding a knife and a small axe.
“When I reached Masara’s cabin, I found him struggling to remove his blood-soaked shirt. He told me that Gombe stabbed him with a Columbia knife and Chirimuuta struck him with an axe,” he said.
Gombe was arrested after police were alerted, while Chirimuuta remains on the run.
The court handed Gombe a 25-year sentence.
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