High Court Sentences CCC Trio To 22 Years For Mbare Murder

The High Court has sentenced three members of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) to 22 years and nine months in prison each for the murder of a man during a violent political clash in Harare.

Justice Esther Muremba condemned the killing of Onisimo Mavhungire as a “brutal mob attack,” ruling that the crime was committed under aggravating circumstances.

The court heard that on 7 October 2022, a violent confrontation erupted between CCC supporters and ZANU-PF members at Nenyere Flats in Mbare. The dispute reportedly centred on a contested piece of land within the high-density suburb.

The three convicted men were part of a CCC-aligned group that launched a vicious assault on Mavhungire.

Justice Muremba described a sustained attack in which the group used “open hands, booted feet, stones, and a wooden log,” leaving the victim bleeding and lifeless. Mavhungire later succumbed to severe head injuries.

“The facts clearly establish aggravating circumstances: the murder was committed by a group of at least ten people acting in common purpose, in defiance of a lawful court order,” the judge ruled.

The court rejected the defence’s plea for leniency, which cited the offenders’ youth, family obligations, and time already served in remand as grounds for a reduced sentence.

However, Justice Muremba dismissed these mitigating factors, ruling that the “vicious and sustained” nature of the assault demanded a penalty reflecting both the gravity of the loss of life and the defendants’ brazen disregard for legal authority.

“Criminal liability is individual, and each participant in a common purpose bears responsibility for the fatal outcome,” said Justice Murenda while asserting that the law does not reduce responsibility simply because multiple offenders were involved.

“The section does not provide for dilution of liability or a proportional reduction in sentence… it ensures that every co-perpetrator bears full criminal responsibility for the offence,” Justice Muremba said.

The judge also dismissed the defence’s call for an eight-year sentence.

“Counsel’s proposal of eight years’ imprisonment ignores these binding provisions and fails to engage with the aggravating factors present in this case,” the court ruled.

In passing sentence, Justice Muremba stressed the importance of consistency and deterrence, saying the defendants had been sentenced to 25 years before a successful appeal necessitated this fresh ruling.”

“The considerations that led the court to impose 25 years initially are still present, and the offenders’ culpability has not diminished,” the judge said.

She added that a stringent penalty was essential to uphold the interests of justice and to serve as a robust deterrent against the scourge of political violence.

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