Lawyer gives ZRP 7 days to release DNA results

Legal pressure is mounting on the Zimbabwe Republic Police after a lawyer issued a seven-day ultimatum demanding the release of DNA test results linked to a suspected murder case involving a villager allegedly abducted and killed by Chief Charumbira's bodyguards.

Lawyer Martin Mureri of Matutu and Mureri Legal Practitioners has written to police giving them a deadline to release the results or face court action.

The case centres on the suspected killing of Taurayi Lovemore Takawira (38), who went missing in September 2022 in the Mushandike Resettlement Area in Masvingo. His body was later discovered in a decomposed state in November 2022.

Takawira's family believes he was assaulted and killed by alleged bodyguards linked to Chief Charumbira during a boundary dispute. The Zimbabwe Republic Police, however, has maintained that Takawira may not be deceased, suggesting he could have fled to South Africa following the dispute.

The family insists it identified the body through personal items, including clothing, a wristwatch and a mobile phone found at the scene, and has been pushing for DNA confirmation to conclusively establish identity and allow for burial.

The remains have reportedly been held at Masvingo Provincial Hospital since 2022, with previous attempts at identification delayed due to disputed or contaminated samples.

In a letter dated April 24, 2026, Mureri accused police of delaying the release of results despite multiple submissions of DNA samples, including fresh samples taken in February this year.

"We approached your office last year and you told us that your office faced some challenges with the sample and you wanted new samples which the siblings of the deceased supplied. It is now more than three months after you took the samples but you do not want to release the results," reads part of the letter.

Mureri confirmed the ultimatum in an interview, saying legal action will follow if police fail to respond within seven days.

"Yes we served them with a letter on April 24 and gave them seven days to respond, failure of which we are going to submit a court application demanding them to release the results," he said.

The family has previously challenged attempts by authorities to proceed with a pauper's burial, arguing that doing so would undermine an ongoing murder case already before the courts in Masvingo.

The case remains unresolved, with the family continuing to press for clarity, accountability and the release of forensic findings they say are critical to achieving closure and justice.