Inmate evades prison guards, robs and rapes student at Chinhoyi University of Technology

A Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) student was allegedly raped by a prisoner who escaped while working near student accommodation.

Takudzwa Makunda, 24, of Mbona in Murombedzi, was serving a sentence at Chinhoyi Prison for stealing a mobile phone. He is also facing pending charges of rape and robbery in Mhondoro.

On 29 September 2026, Makunda was assigned to work at the university’s 34-room hotel, where prisoners provide unpaid labour as part of a routine programme. He escaped while on duty.

“He went on to commit robbery and rape on a CUT student the same day,” according to an internal police memo seen by ZimLive.

It remains unclear how a prisoner facing pending rape charges came to be deployed to a university accommodation facility.

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