05 April 2019 :
The High Court sentenced a Harare man to death by hanging on 20 March 2019 for killing his lover and her three children. Bernard Mazhandu Mucheka, who had spent five years in custody waiting for finalisation of his matter, was convicted on four counts of murder and another four for attempted murder.Mucheka burnt the house the woman was in after she dumped him. Four other minors who were in the room on the fateful day survived, but sustained injuries ranging from 33, 40 and 42 percent of superficial burns of the total body surface area on the necks, trunk, abdomen, back and limbs, and were detained in hospital up to seven months.
High Court judge Esther Muremba said Mucheka premeditated the crime and the court was constrained to impose a death penalty in the circumstances.