Chiredzi ECD Pupil Was Raped, Killed And Dumped

Postmortem findings have revealed that six-year-old Steadfast Makondo, an Early Childhood Development pupil at Chiredzi Government Primary School, was raped before being killed.

The child had gone missing from school and was later discovered dead in nearby bushland.

Police have launched a manhunt for Chiredzi Rural District Ward 16 councillor, Lovemore Muchono, who was responsible for transporting the child to and from school.

Muchono is reportedly on the run after leaving a note in which he claimed that he had mistakenly left the child in his vehicle when dropping off other pupils, only realising his error at lunchtime when the child was already dead.

The incident occurred two weeks ago. National Police Spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the postmortem results in an interview with the Masvingo Mirror. He said:

“Yes, I can confirm that the child was abused and murdered. She had marks and multiple bruises on her body, so we are treating this as a murder case.”

Steadfast went missing on 27 January 2026. Muchono was the last person to see her and later reported her absence to her teacher that same day. He is said to have joined the search, which continued late into the night.

Muchono attended the funeral on 2 February, then disappeared. He left a confession letter in his car, claiming that he had forgotten to drop Steadfast at school while delivering other children and only realised his mistake at lunchtime, by which time she was already dead.

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