Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
Three Zimbabwe National Army soldiers have been sentenced to five years in prison each for the 2019 killing of a Zion Christian Church (ZCC) congregant they mistakenly identified as a smuggler during an all-night prayer gathering in Beitbridge.
Ngqabutho Khoza, Emmanuel Kandidzanwa and Oscar Mutambisi, who were initially charged with murder, were convicted of culpable homicide by Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Naison Chivayo.
The judge sentenced the trio to eight years in jail, with three years suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, leaving them to serve five effective years behind bars.
The incident occurred on July 27, 2019, when the now-deceased Jervas Masvina and fellow ZCC congregants gathered at their church shrine located in a bushy area approximately 700 metres from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) offices and opposite the Beitbridge Airstrip.
The group had travelled to the location by car to hold an all-night prayer session.
At around 7:30pm, while the church members were disembarking from their vehicle, the three soldiers — who were on patrol and dressed in full military camouflage — emerged from the darkness.
Khoza was armed with an AK-47 service rifle.
Suspecting that the worshippers were smugglers attempting to cross into South Africa illegally, the soldiers ordered everyone to lie down.
However, some of the congregants, including Masvina, resisted the order.
In the ensuing confrontation, Khoza fired two shots.
One of the bullets struck Masvina in the back and exited through the left side of his chest, killing him on the spot.
At the time of his death, Masvina was reportedly clutching a Bible and other religious items.
In his defence, Khoza claimed he accidentally discharged the firearm during a struggle with one of the congregants, whom he suspected of being a smuggler.
He told the court that he had been struck in the eye by a stone thrown by one of the group members.
His co-accused, Kandidzanwa and Mutambisi, denied having firearms or directly participating in the shooting.
However, the court rejected their claims, with Justice Chivayo ruling that the three had acted in common purpose.
“They all knew amongst themselves that the one who was armed was the first accused (Khoza) and this is the very reason why he was taking a lead,” said the judge.
“And that it was confessed and not denied that they strategically positioned themselves like that.”
A State witness testified that after Masvina was shot, the soldiers fled the scene, promising to return with a vehicle, a promise they never kept, said Justice Chivayo.
“Therefore, that the three were acting in common purpose has been proved in that the second and third accused did not withdraw they were always at the scene.
“They have, however, told this court that they tactfully withdrew from the scene and they ultimately met at the barracks.
“This court is satisfied that indeed the three from the onset till the end were acting with a common purpose.”
In his ruling, Justice Chivayo condemned the misuse of firearms by trained personnel, emphasising that such weapons should never be used in civilian settings.
“This court, therefore, frowns at people who remove God-given gift of life.
“In this case, the mission of the offenders was to arrest smugglers in the event that they were smugglers.
“It has turned out there was nothing related to any smuggling that was taking place.
“The deceased died clinging on to his Bible and a church stuff through the negligence of the accused.”
