Life sentence for stalker ex-boyfriend who penned six-page note before killing former lover
A 45-year-old Nkayi man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his former lover after tracking her down following the collapse of an abusive relationship.
The High Court sitting in Hwange also handed the man an additional five-year prison sentence for attempted murder after he stabbed a 72-year-old man in a separate attack on the same night. The sentences will run consecutively.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the victim, Princess Janet Ncube, had ended her relationship with the offender while they were living in South Africa and returned home to Nkayi in December 2025 seeking refuge from the abuse.
Ncube, who worked as a cook at Inkisela Lodges in Nkayi, settled at her mother’s homestead in Mbondweni Village under Chief Tshugulu. However, her former partner refused to accept the break-up.
Prosecutors said the man relentlessly pursued Ncube, demanding that she return to him. When she refused, he allegedly threatened to kill her and members of her family. He also wrote a six-page handwritten note detailing his intentions before travelling to Nkayi, where he reportedly stalked both Ncube and her relatives.
The violence reached a tragic climax on 28 January 2026.
At around 8 pm, Ncube left Inkisela Lodges in the company of her new boyfriend. The offender confronted the pair and threatened the boyfriend, forcing him to flee for safety.
The court heard that the man then dragged Ncube towards the nearby ZESA Nkayi offices, where he launched a frenzied knife attack. He stabbed her 13 times, killing her at the scene.
Just 30 minutes after the fatal attack, the offender struck again.
Near Junction Down Stores, he attacked a 72-year-old man, stabbing him once in the back with the same knife. The elderly victim survived and was treated at Nkayi District Hospital.
Police investigations quickly led to the arrest of the offender. Detectives recovered a blood-stained Okapi knife believed to have been used in both attacks, as well as the handwritten note outlining the man’s plans.
