Harare High Court Sentences Three to Life for Rushinga Ritual Decapitation

HARARE – In a scathing judgment aimed at dismantling deep-seated superstitious beliefs within the commercial sector, the Harare High Court has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for the gruesome murder and decapitation of a 34-year-old Rushinga woman. Victor Mazhambe, Absey Bizek Kahuruva, and local businessman Barnabas Murenza were convicted of the premeditated killing of Grace Murenza, a mother of five. The court heard that the murder was orchestrated to harvest her blood for business ritual murders in Zimbabwe to spiritually fortify Barnabas's failing commercial ventures.

The prosecution revealed a chilling conspiracy that began in September 2024 in Manyozo Village, Rushinga. Desperate for a spiritual shortcut to wealth, Barnabas Murenza hired Mazhambe and Kahuruva for US$2,500 to assassinate Grace. In a shocking twist of betrayal, the killers recruited David Meja Grace’s former husband and the father of her five children to lure her into a trap. On the night of September 22, 2024, Meja tricked Grace into an empty room where Mazhambe attacked her with an axe. Meja then used a sharp instrument to sever her head.

The men drained the victim's blood into a container for Barnabas's rituals before dumping her severed head down a Blair toilet at a nearby Zion church shrine, where it was discovered by a young girl the following morning.

[The Conspiracy Hierarchy]
Barnabas Murenza (Financier / Mastermind)
       │
       ├──> Victor Mazhambe & Absey Kahuruva (Hired Assassins - US$2,500)
       │
       └──> David Meja (Ex-Husband / Insider - Died in Remand)

While Meja died in remand custody before the trial, his three co-conspirators faced the full wrath of the law.

Presiding Judge Justice Gibson Mandaza did not mince words, using the ruling to address the wider business community regarding superstition and crime in Zimbabwe.

"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," Justice Mandaza ruled.

To completely deconstruct the myth of human sacrifice as a corporate strategy, the judge listed legendary, legitimate Zimbabwean corporate giants that achieved massive success through modern management rather than witchcraft:

• Econet Wireless

• Zimplats

• Pick n Pay Zimbabwe

• Spar

Justice Mandaza emphasized that these multi-million dollar corporate empires thrived strictly on sound business principles, financial discipline, and market strategies.

Legal analysts note that this case mirrors the infamous 2020 Tapiwa Makore ritual murder case, where a seven-year-old boy was dismembered by his uncle in Murewa to harvest body parts for a cabbage-farming venture. The killers in that landmark case saw their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment in May 2025.

The persistent underground demand for human organs and blood was further verified in late 2025 by a comprehensive BBC Africa Eye juju investigation, which exposed underground syndicates across Sub-Saharan Africa catering to wealthy, superstitious clients. With this latest ruling, the High Court has reinforced that anyone seeking to build financial empires on human blood will find their dreams of wealth permanently replaced by a life behind bars.

business ritual murders in Zimbabwe