A High Court has convicted Strathaven nurse Bridget Makaza of the cold-blooded murder of her sleeping husband, ruling that the killing was a calculated act of vengeance, not self-defence as she had claimed.
Justice Emelia Muchawa found that Makaza planned and executed the murder of Macloud Zvavovaviri Mapanga in May 2018, then fabricated a story about a robbery to cover her tracks.
“The accused unlawfully and with intent to kill, executed her husband while he slept,” Justice Muchawa stated. “She aimed at the upper part of his body and delivered three fatal shots, then staged an armed robbery to conceal her crime.”
The court heard that on the night of May 14, 2018, Makaza used a .38 Amadeo Rossi revolver to shoot her husband twice in the shoulders and once in the neck as he slept. She then screamed “Thief! Thief!” and reported to police that robbers had broken in and stolen US$12,000.
The State prosecutor, B. Murevanhema, asserted, “There were no robbers. There was no break-in. The story was a fabrication to mask premeditated murder.”
Police investigations quickly uncovered inconsistencies. There were no signs of forced entry at the home. The murder weapon, along with gloves and other items, was later recovered from a swampy area in Belvedere after Makaza led detectives to the spot.
After initially being arrested and granted bail, Makaza fled the country. She remained at large until her re-arrest in December 2024 upon returning to Zimbabwe.
During the trial, Makaza claimed she acted in self-defence, alleging her husband had accused her of witchcraft and attacked her with the gun. She told the court the gun discharged during a struggle and cited years of abuse.
The judge dismissed her testimony as a “lame and incredible fabrication.” A forensic expert testified that the revolver required deliberate trigger pressure and could not have fired accidentally, directly contradicting her self-defence claim.
While the court acknowledged that Mapanga had multiple wives and that this may have caused emotional distress, it found no credible evidence of the sustained physical abuse Makaza alleged.
“The accused lied to everyone—the police, the neighbours, and the court,” Justice Muchawa said. “Her story about robbers was a deliberate deceit to obstruct justice.”
The court concluded that Makaza procured the weapon in South Africa, smuggled it into Zimbabwe, and waited for an opportunity to kill her husband. She was found guilty of murder with actual intent, and sentencing is expected to follow.
