Siphakeme .Mnindwa
Patrick Chitumba, [email protected]
HIGH Court judge, Justice Munamato Mutevedzi, on Friday handed down a life imprisonment sentence to five men, including four brothers, for the brutal murder of Mr Isabel Ndlovu (28).
The incident occurred on November 30, 2022, at Linda Business Centre in Silobela, Midlands province, where the gang stabbed Mr Ndlovu with knives, assaulted him with logs, and an empty beer bottle.
The four brothers, Mkhululi Ncube (26), Qhubekani Ncube (23), Cabangani Ncube (30), and Thulani Ncube (27), from Mabuthe Village, and Mexen Moyo (28) from Mthethehe Village under Chief Malisa, appeared before Justice Mutevedzi during a High Court circuit in Gweru.
They pleaded not guilty but were convicted of murder after a full trial.
Prosecutor, Mr Justin Uladi, presented evidence that the five attacked Mr Ndlovu, who later died upon arrival at Kwekwe District Hospital.
He said on November 30, 2022, at around 4pm, the deceased was at Linda Business Centre, Silobela at one Peter Maranga’s shop.
“The five accused persons walked towards Peter Maranga’s shop armed with knives and the deceased then walked towards them,” he said.
Mr Uladi said Cabangani grabbed Mr Ndlovu by the belt and Moyo struck him with an empty beer bottle before tripping him to the ground.
Moyo then stabbed Mr Ndlovu twice with a knife on the buttocks.
“Qhubekani stabbed the deceased with a knife in the thigh. All the accused then joined and stabbed the deceased indiscriminately on the legs and buttocks,” said Mr Uladi.
“Thulani hit the deceased with a log on the legs and arm. Mkhululi stomped the deceased on the neck and kicked him in the ribs.”
Witnesses testified to the brutal nature of the attack, with Mr Ndlovu’s mother, Ms Sawe Ncube, recounting how the five thugs showed no remorse, referring to her son as a “dog”.
“When I arrived at the shops and they saw me, Qhubekani and Thulani used logs to strike my son’s legs and arms, while Mkhululi stomped on his neck and kicked him in the ribs,” she recounted.
“After they were satisfied with the damage they had done to my son, the accused persons said, ‘take your dog away’,” she said with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ms Ncube said a well-wisher ferried her badly injured son to Kwekwe District Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Constable Mhondiwa Chitima told the court that the accused brothers surrendered themselves at the police station on August 7, 2023, and Moyo did the same on August 26.
Justice Mutevedzi stressed that the accused gang forfeited its right to a second chance in society due to the heinous nature of the murder.
“You do not deserve to reintegrate into society. Your actions demonstrate a complete disregard for human life, and therefore, you forfeit your right to a second chance. Accused one to five are sentenced to life in prison each,” ruled Justice Mutevedzi.
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