High court finalizes 144 murder cases in Midlands Province

Tatenda Sibanda

Gweru-The recent Midlands High Court session finalized 144 cases, with most of the crimes heard before the circuit involving murder.

Bulawayo High Court judges sat from the 20^th of January 2025 to the 7^th of February in Gweru and Gokwe to hear cases and pass judgements on convicted persons.

Three of the convicted murderers were handed life sentences, while other prison terms passed down by the court ranged from 14 to 40 years.

According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, most of these murder cases occurred in the areas of Shurugwi, Silobela, Zhombe, Kwekwe, Mberengwa and Gokwe.

ZRP Midlands Assistant Commissioner Crime Helena Mahonde told journalists in Gweru that mining areas of the province had most of the murder cases heard before the High Court session.

“Murder cases are rampant in Shurugwi, Silobela, Zhombe, Kwekwe, and some were from Mberengwa and Gokwe Districts. The majority of murder cases emanate from mining disputes as most of the accused persons will be artisanal miners” said Mahonde.

She highlighted that some of the murder cases were due to petty issues and unresolved conflicts.

“People just fight over petty issues, for example if someone refuses to buy beer that person can be attacked because of that, some fighting over girlfriends and some trying to get revenge on issues that happened a long time ago.”