Army captain killers get life sentences

Two Masvingo prisoners, who had been on death row for the brutal murder of an army captain in 2018, have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment following Zimbabwe's recent abolition of the death penalty.

Masvingo High Court Judge and Deputy Judge President, Justice Garainesu Mawadze, on Monday resentenced Admire Maovere (28) and Windas Munzweru (26) to life imprisonment after they were initially condemned to death on October 15, 2018, for a murder committed during a planned robbery.

The court heard that Maovere and Munzweru, alongside an accomplice Nyasha Sango—who remains at large—had conspired to rob motorists along the Gutu-Roy Road. Armed with a knife and pepper spray, the trio was offered a lift by the now deceased army captain who was travelling to his rural home in Zaka.

As the vehicle approached the Masvingo-Mutare Road, the men requested to be dropped off. Once the driver complied, the trio attacked him, demanding money. When he resisted, they assaulted, pepper-sprayed, and fatally stabbed him. His body was dumped in the lorry's loading box, and the vehicle was later abandoned along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road after they stole valuables.

Police investigations led to the arrest of Maovere and Munzweru. They have each served nearly seven years in prison.

Justice Mawadze described the murder as "particularly heinous," noting it was committed in aggravating circumstances under Section 47(2) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

"The murder was committed in the course of a robbery. The deceased was brutally assaulted, pepper-sprayed, dragged from his lorry, and stabbed several times," said the judge.

He highlighted that the killing involved premeditation, cruelty, and the use of weapons to subdue the victim, elevating the "moral blameworthiness" of the convicted men. The judge ruled that there were no mitigating factors.

"The now deceased was not the aggressor. He was a good Samaritan who innocently offered the prisoners a lift… Their actions were driven by cruelty and greed," he said.

Justice Mawadze also emphasised the devastating impact of the murder on the victim's family. The deceased, a father of 11 children and husband to two wives, was the sole breadwinner. His eldest daughter, Memory Egnes Jeketera, told the court of the emotional and financial suffering caused by her father's death.

The family had to sell livestock to raise school fees, while some children were forced to drop out and migrate to South Africa to survive. No funeral support or compensation was ever offered by the perpetrators or their families.

"The family was left devastated. One can sympathise with Memory Egnes Jeketera, who asked for a sentence of life imprisonment," Justice Mawadze said.

Although the death penalty has now been abolished in Zimbabwe, the court maintained that life imprisonment was warranted due to the aggravating nature of the offence, which included torture, use of weapons, and betrayal of the deceased's goodwill.

Maovere and Munzweru will now spend the rest of their lives in prison, while authorities continue to pursue their fugitive accomplice, Nyasha Sango.