By Jeremiah Gora
Crime Reporter
Zimbabwean courts have sentenced five offenders to a combined 59 years and three months in prison for offences ranging from attempted rape and attempted murder to armed robbery, prison escape and robbery, with the cases heard in courts across the country recently
The sentences were handed down by the Mutare Regional, Harare, Bulawayo Regional, Karoi and Chipinge Magistrates’ Courts after the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) secured convictions in cases involving violence, theft and unlawful escape.
The longest sentence, an effective 17 years, was imposed on a 66-year-old man by the Mutare Regional Magistrates’ Court for attempting to rape a nine-year-old girl, while 25-year-old Richard Tafadzwa Marondera was jailed for 12 years for his role in an armed robbery in which more than US$744 000 was stolen.
The other sentences included four years for attempted murder, 18 months for escaping from lawful custody and 15 months for robbery.
The cases highlight the severity of offences prosecuted before Zimbabwean courts, with prosecutors relying on evidence including eyewitness accounts, CCTV footage, call records, location data and ballistic examinations.
In the Mutare case, the 66-year-old offender was convicted of attempting to rape a nine-year-old girl on September 29, 2026, at around 1pm.
The NPAZ said the victim was walking home from school when the offender approached her, handed her a packet of biscuits and told her to share them with others at home.
He then allegedly grabbed her hand and dragged her behind a hedge at a nearby homestead.
The court heard that the man pushed the girl to the ground and declared his intention to have sexual intercourse with her because he had given her the biscuits.
When the child began crying, he allegedly choked her by the throat in an attempt to silence her.
The attack was interrupted when two passersby spotted the man choking the girl.
According to the NPAZ, “upon realizing he had been seen, the offender released the victim” and attempted to put his trousers back on.
Villagers gathered at the scene and the child disclosed what had happened before the matter was reported to the police, leading to the offender’s arrest and conviction.
In Harare, Marondera was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for his involvement in the armed robbery at Quest Financial Services in Belgravia on February 25, 2024.
The gang, comprising Marondera and seven accomplices, allegedly stole US$744 676, R10 500 and €120.
The NPAZ said some of the accused had already been convicted, while others remained at large.
The gang allegedly cut through a security fence at No. 6 Rochester Crescent in Belgravia before attacking a sleeping security guard, tying him with electric cables and threatening him.
They were armed with a revolver, a blank pistol, an electric drill, an iron bar and bolt cutters.
The robbers allegedly ransacked offices and used detonators to open a vault before stealing the cash and other property, including two HP laptops, a Wi-Fi router and a 7.65mm CZ Vzor pistol.
They fled after a security reaction team arrived, with one of the offenders firing two shots into the air.
Investigations supported by CCTV footage, call records, location data, ballistic examinations and indications by offenders subsequently led to arrests and the recovery of cash and property.
The NPAZ said the total value of property recovered was US$206 475, including vehicles and household goods allegedly bought using proceeds from the robbery.
In Bulawayo, 23-year-old Mayibongwe Ngalonde of Warrengham was sentenced to an effective four years in prison after being convicted of attempting to murder his 22-year-old friend, Mehluli Maphosa.
The incident occurred on August 23, 2026, at around 8pm, at Plot No. 23 Warrengham.
The two men were in a kitchen near a fireplace when a misunderstanding developed into an altercation.
During the confrontation, Ngalonde allegedly took a small bottle of petrol and poured it over Maphosa, who subsequently caught fire.
The victim sustained extensive burns to his neck, hands and stomach.
The matter was reported to the police, resulting in Ngalonde’s arrest and subsequent conviction.
Meanwhile, the Karoi Magistrates’ Court sentenced 26-year-old Patrick Chiziri of Muzari Farm, Mutorashanga, to 18 months’ imprisonment for escaping from lawful custody at Hurungwe Prison.
Chiziri was already serving a 12-month sentence for unlawful entry when he escaped on October 11, 2026.
He had been deployed to work at Langham cattle kraal at around 7am when he fled.
At about 8am, a prison officer received information from an anonymous caller that an inmate had been seen in the Karuru area.
A search team was immediately deployed from Hurungwe Prison and recaptured Chiziri at approximately 1pm along the Harare-Chirundu Road near Moy Farm in Karoi.
He was subsequently brought before the Karoi Magistrates’ Court, where he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months for the escape.
In Chipinge, the Regional Magistrates’ Court sentenced 35-year-old Captain Mafondora of Masotese Village under Chief Musikavanhu to an effective 15 months’ imprisonment for robbing his 69-year-old relative, Flora Kudzinesa.
The incident occurred on July 25, 2026, at around 11pm, when Mafondora arrived at Kudzinesa’s homestead and allegedly threatened to kill people there by burning them inside the house over a previous unresolved family dispute.
He allegedly threw stones at the house, breaking six panes of the victim’s bedroom window, before breaking the dining-room door.
Mafondora then took a mountain bike and fled.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to his arrest and subsequent conviction.
The NPAZ cases underline the courts’ response to serious criminal conduct, with the sentences reflecting offences involving violence against victims, substantial financial losses, unlawful escape from custody and attacks on vulnerable persons.
