39-Year-Old Harare Man Killed On The Street By Pitbull

A 39-year-old man tragically lost his life after being attacked by a stray pitbull while walking in New Bluffhill, Harare, on Sunday.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) confirmed the incident, saying the dog’s owner, 40-year-old Mike Mupinga, has been arrested and charged with culpable homicide.

Culpable homicide refers to unlawfully causing someone’s death without the intention to kill or in circumstances less severe than murder.

Police said that Samuel Machara’s body was discovered near Mupinga’s home, bearing multiple dog bite wounds. Said the ZRP:

On 01/06/25, ZRP Mabelreign arrested Mike Mupinga (40) in connection with a case of culpable homicide which occurred at the suspect’s residence in Mabelreign.

The case stems from an incident where his pit-bull dogs allegedly attacked and mauled Samuel Machara (39) to death on 01/06/25.

The body of the victim was found near the suspect’s residence with dog bite wounds. The body was referred to the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals mortuary for postmortem.

Former Harare deputy mayor Kudzai Kadzombe said she had contacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which subsequently removed four dogs, two pit bulls, one rottweiler, and an Anatolian mastiff.

Later, Kadzombe said the pitbull responsible for the fatal attack in Bluffhill had been euthanised by the SPCA.

Journalist Maynard Manyowa said that Mupinga has repeatedly displayed reckless behaviour with his pitbulls and has responded dismissively when urged to keep them out of public spaces. Manyowa wrote on X:

In 2023, they chased my kids. Last year, they killed another dog. The owner was rude when we pleaded with him. His dogs move around as a pack at night and cause real terror. They have killed people’s cats, dogs and chickens.

This isn’t the first attack on people either. Council and some authorities came in 2024 in response and took away some strays. Some were taken. But owner claimed they were not strays. I have no kind words for the owner.

In May 2022, John Gavhera from Selborne, Bulawayo, tragically lost his life after being mauled by his own pitbulls. He had jumped over the wall to get into his house after forgetting his keys.

In March 2023, a nine-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in a pitbull attack in Harare’s Whitecliffe neighbourhood.

That same month, a 68-year-old security guard was fatally attacked by a pitbull at a business premises on Sherwood Crescent in Waterfalls, Harare.