Death Sentences Commuted to Life for Masvingo Men Who Killed Army Captain

Zim Now Writer

Two Masvingo men who were on death row for the brutal murder of an army captain have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment following Zimbabwe’s abolition of the death penalty.

Admire Maovere and Windas Munzweru were originally sentenced to death on October 15, 2018, for the killing. This week, Deputy Judge President and Masvingo High Court judge, Justice Garainesu Mawadze, formally resentenced them to life imprisonment in line with the new legal framework.

The court heard that Maovere and Munzweru, along with an accomplice Nyasha Sango—who remains at large—had conspired to rob motorists along the Gutu-Roy Road. Armed with a knife and pepper spray, the trio set out late at night to execute their plan.

They were offered a lift by the now-deceased army captain, who was travelling to his rural home in Zaka. As the vehicle approached the Masvingo-Mutare Road, the men asked to be dropped off. When the driver complied, they turned on him, demanding money.

The victim resisted, prompting the assailants to attack. They pepper-sprayed him, beat him, and fatally stabbed him. Afterwards, they placed his body in the loading box of the lorry and drove to Masvingo.

They later abandoned the vehicle and the body along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road near Craft Centre after stealing the victim’s valuables.