The abolition of capital punishment in Zimbabwe has resulted in the resentencing of 48 inmates previously condemned to death. This significant legal shift, enacted on December 31st when President Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill into law, brings an end to a system that saw 105 executions since Independence, with the last taking place in July 2005.
The resentencing process, expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, will see these convicts brought before the High Court for a reassessment of their sentences under the new legal framework.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mrs Vimbai Nyemba, confirmed the upcoming resentencing in an interview with The Sunday Mail: “Please be advised that the processes for resentencing are anticipated to commence before the end of the first quarter of the year. The ministry is in the process of consulting relevant stakeholders, including the Judicial Service Commission and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), to ensure a smooth transition.”
Mrs Nyemba emphasised the government’s commitment to a fair and humane approach: “Government will ensure that every individual previously sentenced to death is brought before the High Court for resentencing under the new legal framework. This critical change will substitute the death penalty with a more compassionate alternative, such as life imprisonment or long-term imprisonment, reflecting our commitment to justice and human rights.”
Among the 48 inmates facing resentencing are several whose cases garnered significant public attention due to the heinous nature of their crimes. Tafadzwa Shamba and Tapiwa Makore Snr were found guilty of the particularly brutal murder of seven-year-old Tapiwa Makore.
High Court Judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi, presiding over the case with assessors Mr Chakuvinga and Ms Chitsiga, detailed the horrific circumstances of the crime in his sentencing: “Both accused shall be returned to custody and that the sentence of death be executed upon each of them according to law. They approached their task to kill the boy with animated fixation of a predator… In this case, the accused persons heavily drugged the deceased with home-brewed illicit beer.
“He became completely sedated, both accused must have been aware of the brew’s toxicity and potency particularly on a seven-year-old. In reality they poisoned him into a comatose state of drunkenness. The demon which drove Shamba and Makore to commit this murder is relentless and could not be stopped. It can only be neutralised by death.” Shamba was convicted of the murder, while Makore Snr was deemed an accomplice.
Another high-profile case involves Rodney Tongai Jindu, convicted in August 2018 by Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo for the murders of Mboneli Joko Ncube and Cyprian Kudzurunga. Jindu’s crimes involved the shooting and dismemberment of Ncube, whose remains were burned and buried in multiple shallow graves. He then sent a deceptive message to Kudzurunga’s mother, pretending her son had left the country, after similarly murdering and burying him.
Romeo Jambara (29) and Norest Tamangani (31), cousins convicted of the murder of taxi driver Taruvinga Mutiza, also face resentencing. They robbed Mutiza, assaulting him violently before dumping his body along Arcadia Road in Westgate after stealing his shoes, phone, and wallet. The car was later abandoned in Domboshawa. A third suspect in this case was acquitted.
The resentencing process will also encompass ten individuals whose death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2014. These individuals, Njabulo Tshuma, Vusa Mugobo Ndlovu, Zacharia Amos Simango, Nicholas Ncube, Michael Goodluck Nleya, Bright Kwashira, Cloudius Mutawo, Farai Lawrence Ndlovu, Wellington Gadzira, and Norman Sibanda, were convicted of various gruesome murders, including the killing of a nine-year-old boy (Nleya), the murder of a 71-year-old man (Kwashira), the murder of a 71-year-old father (Mutawo), and the poisoning deaths of two men (Ndlovu and Gadzira).
The Supreme Court found no extenuating circumstances in their cases. The details of these cases highlight the range of violent crimes committed by those now facing resentencing.
The abolition of the death penalty marks a significant shift in Zimbabwe’s legal landscape, prompting a complex process of reassessing the sentences of those previously condemned to death.
