Murderer begs to be hanged…….but judge turns him down, gives him life

By Mashudu Netsianda

BULAWAYO – A convicted murderer yesterday caused a stir in court when he pleaded to be hanged before bursting into song as he attempted to jump out of the dock.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva did not condemn Maxwell Moyo, 20, to the gallows, sentencing him to life imprisonment instead.

Six prison officers battled for about five minutes to subdue Moyo who kept insisting on being slapped with the death sentence.

Court proceedings came to a standstill until Justice Takuva ordered prison guards to take Moyo, a year younger than the minimum age at which the court can constitutionally mete the death penalty, back to the holding cells as they seemed to be facing challenges in containing him.

“I want to be sentenced to death because the Bible clearly says anyone who commits murder should also be killed,” Moyo kept shouting as the officers took him out of the courtroom.

Justice Takuva then sentenced him to life imprisonment in absentia.

Moyo, who was part of a robbery syndicate, used a Bulawayo teenage hooker, Prisca Mudyanadzo, 18, as a bait to lure a client from a night spot in the city to a nearby recreational park in Makokoba suburb where they robbed and fatally stabbed him.

Mudyanadzo of no fixed abode was convicted of murder with constructive intent and sentenced to 20 years in jail. Moyo will also rot in jail after Justice Takuva convicted him of murder with actual intent.

The third accused, Tafadzwa Hove, who was also aged 18 and was Mudyanadzo’s lover, died in August last year at Khami Remand Prison after succumbing to inguinal hernia and intestinal obstruction.

In his judgment, Justice Takuva described Moyo and Mudyanadzo’s actions as deplorable and evil.

“Moyo and Mudyanadzo’s moral blameworthiness is very high. They killed a person in a callous and brutal manner out of greed. It was a murder committed in the course of a robbery, which under normal circumstances warranted a death penalty, but, however, you are lucky because in this case death sentence is inapplicable by operation of the law,” said Justice Takuva.

“The new constitution does not allow women to be sentenced to death and those below a certain age threshold.”

Justice Takuva said youths were not exonerated from the wrath of law, adding that the court had the duty to uphold the sanctity of human life.

“Although Moyo came from a broken family where he was raised by his uncle following the death of his mother when he was still very young, that can’t be used as an excuse to engage in criminal activities.

“Youths will think that the courts exercise leniency whenever they commit serious crimes and therefore these courts have a duty to send a clear message by passing the severest of punishments,” said the judge.

He said Moyo was a wicked person who should not be allowed to return to society as he was incapable of reforming.

“Mudyanadzo fled her parents’ home and chose a life of prostitution and frequenting beerhalls and nightclubs and associating with people of moral decadence. She too should be eliminated from society for a lengthy period for her part in killing the victim in a chilling manner,” the judge ruled.

Mudyanadzo and Moyo were represented in court by pro deo lawyers.

Prosecuting, Angeline Munyeriwa said on July 3, 2013, Mudyanadzo was drinking beer with Moyo and Hove at Gijima Night Club in Bulawayo when she lured an unidentified man to a nearby park for a sex session in order to make it easy for her accomplices to attack the victim.

“On that particular night, Mudyanadzo was drinking with the victim at Gijima Night club. They then left the bar at around 3AM, and went to the nearby Getrude Park in Makokoba Township intending to have sex for a fee,” said Munyeriwa.

The court heard that Moyo and Hove swiftly followed and found Mudyanadzo and her client embracing. Moyo picked up a stone and struck the man at the back of his head. When he turned his back, Moyo stabbed him with a knife in the abdomen.

The gang took the man’s wallet, searched it and stole $60 and left him rolling over on the ground until he later died due to injuries sustained. They proceeded to Club Royal where the trio shared the cash. The Chronicle