A THREE-MAN gang strangled a Good Samaritan who offered them a lift, stole his vehicle and then called a “prophet” seeking “protection from the police”.
On Friday, two of the gang were sentenced to death by hanging by a Bulawayo judge. A third suspect is on the run.
Justice Nicholas Mathonsi told Vusumuzi Moyo, 29, and Khulekani Dumisani Nkomo, 28, their actions were driven by “greed and sheer evil”.
“You set about isolating your victim by hiring him out of the city. Clearly, you intended to rob him. You were a gang of three and could have easily overpowered him, but you went a step further and killed him,” the judge told the pair.
“The only thing which propelled your actions is greed and sheer evil. This court finds no extenuating circumstances and you must pay the ultimate penalty for your actions.”
The Bulawayo High Court heard how Moyo, Nkomo and a third man named only as Brilliant approached David Mpofu as he left a supermarket on Herbert Chitepo Street and 12th Avenue just after 7PM on June 24, 2009.
They asked Mpofu to drive them to Magwegwe at a hire rate.
Prosecuting, Angeline Munyeriwa said as they entered Magwegwe, at the intersection of Hyde Park Road and Siyephambili Drive, near Pelandaba Cemetery, Nkomo -- who was seated directly behind Mpofu -- pulled out a nylon string and strangled the victim.
Moyo, the court heard, then got behind the wheel and drove to Luveve Cemetery where they dumped the body.
After the crime, the trio called a self-styled prophet asking him to “protect them” from a police investigation.
But the prophet, the court heard, called the police.
Mpofu’s body was found a day later by a Bulawayo City Council employee.