A prominent businessman, John Madondo, who runs shops in the Eagle Nest area, has been implicated in an attempted ritual murder attempt after he hired a villager to kill a person and bring his head to him.
This came to light while tracking down Tatenda Mudziwidar (20) of Village 5B, Chiringi, who pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder of a seven-year-old first grader on the alleged instructions of Madondo.
Madondo was reportedly in South Africa and was communicating with Mudziwedare by phone to give him instructions.
Mudziwedare, who was not represented, appeared before Rusape Regional Magistrate, Mr Francis Mapfumo, and pleaded guilty to violating Section 187 as read with Section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which criminalizes attempted murder of a person.
The indictment reads as follows: “Tatenda Mudziwidar is charged with the offense of attempted murder as defined in section 187, as read with section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9.23 therein on 28 February 2024, and at the Sherinji Business Centre. , Headlands, Tatenda Mudziwidari attempted to cause the death of Alvin Kambadza by compressing his neck with both hands after businessman, John Madondo, asked him to bring a human head for rituals.
Mapfumo Mudziwidare was found guilty of the crime and is expected to be sentenced yesterday (Thursday).
Prosecutor Tawanda Munganga said Mudziwidari tried to kill the boy by strangling his neck, and only called off the mission after noticing some villagers approaching.
“The complainant is a Grade 1 learner. On 28 February 2024 at approximately 7am, Mudziwidari was at Shiringi Business Center when he saw the complainant and other learners going to Shiringi Primary School.
“Mudziwedare chased the learners and managed to grab hold of the complainant. He put pressure on the complainant’s neck with both hands. The accused saw some local villagers at a distance and released the complainant. The issue came to light when the complainant informed his mother about what had happened,” Mr Munganga said. Post
