Trio gets life sentences for beheading woman for ritials

THE High Court has issued a strong warning against ritual killings and superstition-driven crimes after sentencing three men to life imprisonment for the brutal murder and decapitation of a Rushinga woman.

 

In a scathing judgment delivered in Harare, Justice Gibson Mandaza condemned the belief that human body parts and blood can bring wealth or business success, saying such thinking had no place in modern society.

 

“It is high time that those in the business community disabuse themselves of the misguided belief that charms derived from human blood enhance commercial performance or bring prosperity,” the judge said.

 

“This country is home to thriving enterprises, among them Econet, Spar, Pick and Pay, Zimplats, and many others, all of which have achieved success through sound and modern business management, and not through the use of human body parts.”

 

Victor Mazhambe, Absey Bizek Kahuruva and Barnabas Murenza were convicted of murdering Grace Murenza at Manyozo village in Rushinga on September 22, 2024.

 

The court found that the killing was carefully planned and executed for ritual purposes.

 

Prosecutors said Murenza hired Mazhambe for US$2,500 to kill the 34-year-old woman so that her blood could allegedly be used as a charm to strengthen his business interests.

 

The victim’s former husband, David Meja, who later died in prison before trial, allegedly tricked her into entering a bedroom where Mazhambe and Kahuruva were hiding.

 

Court proceedings revealed that Mazhambe struck the woman twice with an axe before Meja severed her head.

 

The men then carried the decapitated head to a Blair toilet at a Zion church shrine, where Murenza allegedly collected blood from it before ordering the disposal of the head.

 

“The treatment of the deceased’s head in such a manner constitutes inhumane and degrading conduct,” Justice Mandaza ruled.

 

The judge described the murder as “exceptionally brutal” and “premeditated,” adding that the accused showed no remorse during trial.

 

“An innocent life was extinguished in the most barbaric of circumstances,” he said.

 

The court also noted that victim was a mother of five and the sole breadwinner for her family.

 

Her body was discovered by her daughter the following morning, with the head missing. The severed head was later recovered from the Blair toilet by a villager.

 

Justice Mandaza said the sanctity of human life had to be protected and that the courts had a duty to impose severe punishment on offenders who displayed “wanton disregard” for life.

 

The judge ruled that anything less than life imprisonment “would bring disrepute to the administration of justice.”

 

Investigators said the accused acted in concert with Meja, the deceased’s former husband, who died in remand custody before the trial concluded.