32 murder cases lined up as High Court term opens

THE second term of the High Court commenced yesterday with 32 murder trials on the roll among them the case of alleged serial killer Rodney Tongai Jindu.

Jindu's trial, in which the State has lined up 27 witnesses, is expected to commence in July.

Another prominent case is that of Spencer Sithole who allegedly fatally assaulted Bulawayo City Council's assistant director of Engineering Services, Engineer Mbuthi Gugu Mkhwananzi, after the two clashed at a girlfriend's house in Fourwinds.

According to the High Court in Bulawayo's Criminal Cause list, Jindu who doctors certified fit to stand trial will be in the dock on July 10 to 11 facing two counts of murder.

Jindu (27), who is on remand at Khami Remand Prison, made headlines last year after allegedly killing his friends Mboneli Joko Ncube and Cyprian Kudzurunga.

He allegedly shot dead Kudzurunga (28) of Queens Park East on January 29 last year, buried him in a shallow grave in Burnside suburb and sent a message to the deceased's mother pretending to be her son who had suddenly decided to leave the country.

According to State papers, on January 12 last year, Jindu drove to a supermarket situated at corner Robert Mugabe Way and 11th Avenue and met Ncube.

They proceeded to Burnside suburb, but the motive of the trip was not mentioned in court papers.

On arrival in Burnside, Jindu allegedly drew an Optima pistol serial number 13752 from his car and allegedly shot Ncube twice in the chest and he died on the spot. He allegedly chopped the body into pieces before burying the parts in four shallow graves.

On January 29, Jindu was in the company of Kudzurunga walking from Glengarry to Queens Park East. Jindu was armed with an Optima pistol serial number 13752.

After walking for a while, Jindu, who was walking behind Kudzurunga, allegedly shot him in the head and abdomen twice and he fell down and died on the spot. He took his cellphone and laptop.

Jindu, the record read, rushed back home and hid the pistol and the now deceased's laptop in his workshop. He took a wheelbarrow and returned to the murder scene. He shoved the body into a plastic bag, loaded it onto the wheelbarrow and pushed it back home.

He later drove to Burnside where he allegedly secretly buried the body at a vacant residential stand. Jindu took the deceased's cellphone and laptop and sold them for $400. Police investigations led to his arrest and he confessed that he killed the deceased and made indications which led to the recovery of the body.

The stolen goods and firearm used in committing the offences were recovered.

Sithole's trial commences on June 19 with eight witnesses expected to take to the stand.

Sithole (33) of Hillside suburb in Bulawayo allegedly punched his rival suitor Mkhwananzi several times before striking him using a dressing table and a wooden stool at the woman's house in Fourwinds.

Mkhwananzi died a few days later at Mater Dei Hospital, allegedly due to the injuries sustained as a result of the attack.

Sithole is out on bail.

Also on the list is Bulawayo woman, Glady's Sibanda who allegedly killed her four-year old niece and buried the body in the yard of her rented home last May. Her trial kicks off on June 7.

Another case is that of Prosper Dungeni (19) who is accused of stabbing Mthulisi Ncube, a vendor who was trying to stop a fight. Dungeni allegedly plunged a knife into Ncube's neck in a turf war involving teenage gangsters in Pumula suburb last year.

Bino Ndou, a 41-year-old suspected poacher who allegedly shot and killed a game ranger at Nottingham Estate, 40km south west of Beitbridge in April last year will face trial on 12 to 13 June .

Ndou had been cornered by three game rangers while checking his snares in the estate.

This term of the High Court is expected to end on August 3.