By Fanuel Viriri
Former police detective Jaison Muvevi has been sentenced to four life terms and an additional 40 years in prison for the murders and attempted murders he committed during a three-month shooting spree that shocked Zimbabwe.
High Court Judge Justice Gibson Mandaza, with assessors Temba Kuwanda and Hossiah Mujaya, dismissed his defence of insanity, highlighting that his decision to flee to Mozambique after committing the offences demonstrated that he was in control of his mental faculties. The judge said “society is safer without the accused” and described Muvevi as a “sadist and psychopath” who treated his victims as objects.
Muvevi was a former detective in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. The State proved he killed four people and attempted to kill four others in Harare, Wedza and Mutare between November 2022 and January 2023.
The spree began on 19 November 2022, when he shot dead Nyarai Round in Eastlea, Harare. A wrong suspect was initially arrested for that murder.
The killings escalated on 13 January 2023, when three murders were committed within hours of each other:
He shot dead 62-year-old self-styled prophet Chrispen Kanerusine at a Johanne Masowe shrine at Negombwe Village, Wedza, after disliking a prophecy the prophet gave him.
He then shot dead Inspector Maxwell Hove, the Officer-in-Charge of Wedza Police Station, who was trying to block his escape. Hove was shot three times.
After the killings, Muvevi seized firearms from police officers and fled to Mozambique, where he was later arrested and extradited.
During trial, 29 State witnesses testified. Muvevi denied all charges and through lawyers Blessed Matandire and Jackie Sande claimed diminished responsibility, saying he was tormented by “goblins and evil spirits” and that his mother had taken him to a shrine.
State doctors at Chikurubi psychiatric unit diagnosed mild to moderate psychosis, but psychiatrists Dr Simba Mazorodze and Dr Blessing Dhoropa testified he understood the wrongfulness of his actions and was not severely incapacitated. His act of kicking victims’ bodies was cited as evidence of callousness, not insanity.
Prosecutors Caroline Mutimusakwa and Tapiwa Kasema argued the murders were premeditated, unprovoked, committed in public places with firearms, and one victim was a police officer on duty.
Muvevi, from Ruzane Village in Wedza, was also found to have a pending attempted rape case and lost two luxury cars during investigations.
He was sentenced to life for each murder and 10 years for each attempted murder — 40 years total — to be served effectively as life in prison.
