A prisoner at a Hurungwe prison in Makuti, Stancelot Mashayamombe, was last week slapped with life imprisonment for the murder of a prison officer, Bessy Mutandwa Majuru.
BY CHARLES LAITON
High Court judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze convicted Mashayamombe of killing the officer in cold blood after escaping from jail.
At the time the murder was committed, Mashayamombe was already serving a 40-month jail term for an attempted murder case.
When he appeared before Justice Mawadze, Mashayamombe refused to say anything in his defence, electing to exercise his constitutional right to silence.
Prosecutor Albert Masamha presented that sometime in August last year, Mashayamombe was at Hurungwe Prison Farm in Makuti where he had been placed in prison class “A” as he was about to complete his jail term for attempted murder.
On the day in question, the court heard, at around 6pm, Mashayamombe went into hiding within the farm and at around 8pm he proceeded to the now deceased, Majuru’s house.
When he got to Majuru’s house, Mashayamombe used an unknown object to break the spare bedroom windowpane and gained entry.
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While inside the house, the court heard, the prisoner removed his prison garb, a blue work-suit trouser inscribed “A” and a white T-shirt, leaving them on the bed before proceeding to the main bedroom where Majuru was sleeping alone.
He forcibly grabbed Majuru, tied her around the neck with a shoe lace and a lady’s pants, gagged her with a neck tie and tied her hands with a rope before tearing off her underpants and raping her.
Majuru struggled for breath and eventually succumbed to strangulation, after which Mashayamombe covered her lifeless body with a blanket.
