Mutare Murderers Jailed for Life as ZRP Applauds Community Crime-Fighting Efforts

Two men convicted of a brutal murder committed along the Harare–Mutare railway line have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court in Mutare, in a case that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) says highlights the growing importance of public cooperation in fighting violent crime.

According to a ZRP press statement issued on 23 January 2026, Sanele Simbarashe Makono (23) and Sterio Joao Mahachi (55) were convicted for the September 2024 murder of a man opposite Yeovil Location in Mutare. Police said the pair repeatedly stabbed the victim with knives before stealing his cellphone and other valuables.

The breakthrough in the case came on 14 September 2024 when detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Mutare, working with mobile network service providers, tracked the victim’s stolen cellphone, leading to Makono’s arrest. During investigations, Makono implicated Mahachi and another suspect, identified as Timothy Charles, who remains at large. Further investigations reportedly linked the suspects to two additional murder cases.

Mahachi was eventually arrested on 13 May 2025 after detectives received information that he was already serving a five-year prison sentence for a separate robbery conviction. The two men appeared before Isaac Muzenda at the Mutare High Court on 20 January 2026, where Chief Prosecutor Malvin Musarurwa represented the State. Police confirmed the pair will still face trial in connection with the two other murder cases.

In a separate murder case, Thabani Gambiza (19), from Huchu Village under Chief Mataruse in Mberengwa, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murder. The court heard that on 19 August 2025, Gambiza and an accomplice, Fungai Kuboya, who is still on the run, assaulted a man during a beer-drinking dispute around 1 am. The victim later died from the injuries sustained during the attack. Gambiza was convicted at the Gweru High Court Circuit before Munamato Mutevedzi, with prosecutor Michael Mhenhe representing the State.

Meanwhile, four men convicted of nine counts of armed robbery were each sentenced to 82 years imprisonment, with part of the sentence suspended, leaving them to serve an effective 44 years behind bars. The convicted men are Charles Munyaradzi Dhokotera (42), Donald Travolta Matunhu (28), Mayor Sibanda (34), and Bothwell Kamwendo (40). A fifth accused person, Colonel Madzima (24), was acquitted.

The robbery occurred in April 2025 at Nyamuzara Business Centre in Murewa, where the gang, armed with rifles, a pistol and baton sticks, stormed a cocktail bar, assaulted patrons and robbed them before raiding a nearby residence. Police credited vigilant community members for helping track the suspects’ getaway vehicle, a Toyota Aqua. Recovered weapons included revolvers, shotguns, dummy pistols, handcuffs, button sticks, and a sjambok hidden near Shavanhowe Bridge in Murewa. The ZRP praised members of the public for assisting police in combating violent crime and urged citizens to continue reporting criminal activity in their communities.

Zimbabwe murder case

Zimbabwe Crime, ZRP, Mutare, Murder, Armed Robbery, High Court, CID, Murewa, Crime News, Court News