Strathaven nurse guilty of cold-blooded murder, court rules she planned to kill sleeping husbandi

The High Court has found a Harare nurse, Bridget Makaza, guilty of deliberately shooting her husband three times as he slept in their Strathaven home, in what the judge described as a calculated act of vengeance fueled by jealousy and deceit.

Justice Emelia Muchawa, sitting with assessors Mhandu and Barwa, ruled that Makaza planned and executed the murder of her husband, Macloud Zvavovaviri Mapanga, in May 2018 before fabricating a fake robbery to conceal the crime.

“The accused unlawfully and with intent to kill, executed her husband while he slept,” Justice Muchawa said in a damning finding. “She aimed at the upper part of his body and delivered three fatal shots on the shoulders and neck, then staged an armed robbery to cover her tracks.”

The court heard that the accused used a .38 Amadeo Rossi revolver with an erased serial number, which she had smuggled into Zimbabwe from South Africa after claiming she travelled there to buy medication.

According to the State, on the night of May 14, 2018, the accused waited until her husband was asleep before firing three bullets, two in the shoulders and one grazing the neck. She then screamed “Thief! Thief!”, claiming robbers had broken in and stolen US$12,000.

Prosecutor B. Murevanhema said, “There were no robbers. There was no break-in. The story was a fabrication to mask premeditated murder.”

Police investigations uncovered inconsistencies in her story. The house had no signs of forced entry, and the firearm, gloves and metal objects were later recovered from a swampy area in Belvedere after the accused led detectives to the spot.

The nurse initially went to Mabelreign Police Station to lodge a false report of armed robbery. After being arrested and granted bail, she fled the country through South Africa and remained on the run until her re-arrest in December 2024 when she returned to Zimbabwe, claiming she “missed her children.”

During the trial, the accused claimed she shot her husband in self-defence, saying he had accused her of witchcraft and attempted to attack her with the same gun.

“The gun went off during a scuffle. I never intended to kill him,” she told the court, further alleging years of abuse and marital rape.

However, the judge dismissed her account as a “lame and incredible fabrication,” noting that forensic evidence showed the gun could not have discharged accidentally.

“A revolver requires deliberate trigger pressure. It cannot fire itself,” said forensic expert Admire Mutizwa, whose testimony was pivotal in discrediting the self-defence claim.

Evidence showed that Mapanga had multiple wives, up to eight, a fact the accused never accepted. While the court acknowledged possible emotional and sexual abuse, it found no credible proof of sustained physical violence.

“The accused lied to everyone, the police, the neighbours, and even the court,” Justice Muchawa noted. “She lived a lie from the night of the shooting until her arrest. Her story about robbers was a deliberate deceit to obstruct justice.”

The court concluded that Makaza procured the murder weapon in South Africa, smuggled it into Zimbabwe, and waited for an opportune moment to kill her husband.

“She was methodical. She retrieved the gun while her husband was asleep and fired at close range,” the judge said. “Her conduct before, during, and after the murder shows beyond doubt that this was a planned execution.”

The court found her guilty of murder with actual intent.

Sentencing is expected to follow. — _*NewZimbabwe*_