Zvishavane man kills ex-girlfriend’s husband in vicious catapult and axe attack

Sinokubonga Nkala [email protected]
A 21-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend’s husband, in a vengeful attack with a stone and axe in Zvishavane, Midlands Province.
Edwin Muchekayawa visited his ex-girlfriend, who lived with her husband, at night.
He knocked on the window and called out the name of his ex-girlfriend’s husband.
The husband, Passmore Shumba, came out of the house and Muchekayawa hit him on the ribs with a stone from a catapult before fleeing from the scene.
Shumba had no idea who had attacked him but tracked the footprints of the assailant to Muchekayawa’s home the following day.
On being confronted, Muchekayawa grabbed an axe and struck Shumba on the head, leading to his death.
The next morning when he was confronted he chased him with an axe and killed him.
In an official statement, on X, the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said, “A Zvishavane man, Edwin Muchekayawa, was convicted by the High Court sitting at Gweru on murder charges. The accused person was 21 years old at the time he committed the offence whilst the now deceased was 25 years old.
“On the 19th of August 2023 at around 2300 hours the accused person proceeded to Passmore Shumba’s homestead. Passmore Shumba was married to the accused person’s ex-girlfriend. Upon arrival, the accused knocked on the window and called Passmore Shumba’s name. When he came out, the accused person struck the deceased with a stone using a catapult on the ribs. The accused person then fled from the scene. Passmore Shumba did not see who had assaulted him.
“The following morning at around 0700 hours, Passmore Shumba together with Tawanda Shumba, Chengeto Nyadzo and the deceased tracked the accused’s footprints in a bid to find the person who had shot Passmore Shumba. The trail led to the accused person’s homestead. The quartet threatened to report the accused person to the headman. As they were leaving his homestead, the accused person armed himself with an axe and chased them. The four men ran in different directions. The deceased fell to the ground whereupon the accused person caught up with him and struck him with the axe once on the head, behind the ear leading to his death. The accused person fled the scene soon after, leaving the deceased lying on the ground in a pool of blood. The matter was reported to the police leading to the arrest of the accused person.
“The accused person was convicted and sentenced to 24 years imprisonment.”