Former police detective Jaison Muvevi has been sentenced to four life terms plus an additional 40 years in prison after Zimbabwe’s High Court convicted him of multiple murders and attempted murders linked to a brutal shooting spree that stunned the nation.
Justice Gibson Mandaza handed down the heavy sentence on Tuesday, declaring that “society is safer without the accused” after finding Muvevi guilty on four counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder.
The court heard that Muvevi carried out a series of violent attacks in 2022 and 2023, killing four people, including Wedza Police Station officer-in-charge Inspector Maxwell Hove, bartender Munashe Mujanhi, and apostolic sect leader Crispen Mubvana. Several others were seriously injured during the attacks.
During the trial, Muvevi denied the charges and mounted an insanity defence through his lawyer Blessed Matandire. The defence argued that he was mentally unstable at the time and claimed he was being “haunted by goblins” and evil spirits.
However, the court rejected the defence after hearing evidence from dozens of State witnesses and psychiatric evaluations which found him fit to stand trial. Prosecutors successfully argued that the killings were deliberate, premeditated and carried out in public places using firearms.
The sensational case first gripped Zimbabwe in January 2023 when Muvevi allegedly went on a deadly rampage in Hwedza, fatally shooting an apostolic prophet before engaging police officers in a gun battle that left Inspector Hove dead and another officer injured. He later fled into Mozambique where he was arrested and extradited to Zimbabwe.
Investigations later linked him to another murder in Harare dating back to November 2022, widening what prosecutors described as a “movie-style” killing spree.
The sentencing closes one of Zimbabwe’s most disturbing criminal cases in recent years, bringing relief to victims’ families and communities affected by the violence.
With four life sentences now imposed, Muvevi is expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
