Man beheads sister for rituals

A Magunje family has been left devastated after their son, Isaac Mashonga, brutally murdered his sister for ritual purposes before losing his sight on the eve of his trial.

The now 28-year-old was convicted by High Court judge Justice Philda Muzofa, sitting with assessors in Chinhoyi, for the July 2017 killing of his sister, Dadirai Mashonga, in their Mashonga Village home, Zvipani, Magunje.

The tragedy unfolded when the siblings' 93-year-old father, Champion Mashonga, and his wife discovered their daughter's headless body in a pool of blood inside the family's kitchen hut.

"No parent can imagine one of his or her children beheading his sibling in their kitchen," Justice Muzofa said, describing the incident as "a tragedy that will haunt this family and community forever."

Prosecutors said Isaac, then 20, conspired with local businessman Robert "Giant" Tichareva, who promised him US$4,000 for the killing. On the night of July 13, 2017, Dadirai was strangled and decapitated while asleep, with her head hidden in a satchel and smuggled to an abandoned building.

Villagers apprehended Isaac after noticing his blood-soaked clothes and forced him to reveal the satchel and the murder weapons. His father testified against him, saying: "As a father, I had no reason to misrepresent the facts. I was simply a troubled father."

The case took another twist when Isaac lost his sight while awaiting trial, with prison doctors confirming he is now 80% blind. His blindness has left him dependent on fellow inmates for food, movement and daily survival.

"For this elderly couple, they have lost two children at the same time – one through death and one through incarceration," the judge noted.

Despite his claims that he was drugged by Tichareva and acted under instruction, Justice Muzofa dismissed his defence as "far-fetched" and "chicanery," ruling that Isaac was a willing participant.

"The proved facts admit of no other inference except that the accused was part of this grand plan," she ruled, branding the crime "murder in aggravating circumstances" that induced "shock and revulsion" in the community.

Although the court considered Isaac's youth at the time of the crime, his disability, and the six years he spent in pre-trial custody, Justice Muzofa said punishment must focus on deterrence and retribution.

Isaac now faces decades behind bars — blind, disgraced, and forever remembered as the brother who killed his sister and broke his parents' twilight years.