MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU-A 23-year-old artisanal miner has been sentenced to an effective 20 years in prison for the murder of a fellow miner at Wanderer Mine in Shurugwi, with the High Court describing the attack as brutal and committed under aggravating circumstances.
High Court Judge Justice Bongani Ndlovu, sitting at the Gweru circuit, convicted Blessing Ncube of Bharangwe village under Chief Malisa in Silobela of murder and imposed the mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Ncube’s co-accused, Thabani Bongani, was sentenced to two years in prison, with one year suspended on condition that he does not commit an offence involving violence within the next five years after being found guilty of assault.
A third accused, Courage Brighton Sibanda, was acquitted at the commencement of the trial after the State conceded he did not take part in the heinous murder.
In passing sentence, Justice Ndlovu said such callous and brutal conduct had no place in society, particularly among young people, adding that the offence had been committed in aggravating circumstances.
“The pursuit of the deceased showed that the accused were baying for his blood. The deceased was treated like a dog and there was no remorse,” Ndlovu said.
He further criticised lawlessness associated with artisanal mining, saying the sector had caused havoc as offenders move from one province to another without regard for the law.
The court heard that on June 20, 2025, at around 9pm, Luke Magura was seated in a shed at Violet Makore’s tuckshop at Wanderer Mine, warming himself by a fire, when the three accused arrived drinking beer while blasting music from a radio at high volume, drawing attention and irritation at the mining site.
The three accused began rummaging through cooking pots while playing their radio at high volume, prompting Magura to rebuke them and triggering a confrontation.
The trio, the court heard, started assaulting Magura before he fled.
The accused pursued him and caught up with him about 80 metres away, where they attacked and stabbed him before throwing him into a disused mine shaft.
Magura’s body was later retrieved and ferried to United Bulawayo Hospitals, where a post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Maibelys Gavilan Acosta concluded that death was due to traumatic shock, a fall into a pit and assault.
Evidence before the court showed that Ncube inflicted the fatal stab wounds before the deceased was pushed into the shaft, while Bongani was found to have participated in the initial assault but not in the fatal act, with Sibanda exonerated from the murder.
In mitigation, Ncube’s prayed for a lesser sentence adding that he was intoxicated.
He further submitted that the offence was not premeditated, adding that his violent and substance-abuse-prone background contributed to the unfortunate actions.
The State, however argued that the seriousness of the offence warranted a custodial sentence as it outweighed the mitigating factors.
