Lupane Man Jailed 16 Years for Killing Stepmother With Axe and Fire
- Chipo Basira
- 21 Apr, 2026
Lupane Man Jailed 16 Years for Killing Stepmother With Axe and Fire
HWANGE: A 20-year-old man from Lupane has been jailed for 16 years after killing his 72-year-old stepmother with an axe and setting her on fire during a dispute over cooking oil.
The High Court in Hwange convicted Sibongiseni Mpofu of murdering Christine Ncube at her homestead under Chief Mabhikwa on 17 May 2025.
The court heard that Mpofu went to Ncube’s home to ask for cooking oil. He struck his father’s first wife with an axe, poured an accelerant on her, and set her on fire.
He then called his brother, Siyabonga Mpofu, and told him to go and “take their aunt as he had killed her.”
The brother and an uncle rushed to the scene. They found Ncube with severe head injuries and extensive burns. She was taken to hospital but died about a month later.
Medical evidence showed she suffered septic deep burns to the scalp, face, nostrils, eye area, neck, upper chest, both arms, and the right lower limb, as well as severe eye damage. The cause of death was recorded as anaemia and septicaemia caused by petrol burns and assault.
Justice Evangelista Kabasa said the State’s case was supported by consistent testimony from Mpofu’s brother and father, plus physical evidence including blood stains, paraffin drops, and the smell of fuel in the hut.
The victim identified her attacker before she died. The court accepted her statement as a dying declaration and an exception to hearsay evidence.
Mpofu denied the charge. He claimed the woman fell into a fire after he pretended to strike her. The court rejected his defence. Justice Kabasa said his selective memory damaged his credibility and called him a poor witness who could not maintain his story.
In sentencing, Justice Kabasa condemned the attack. She said: “She had been gifted with long life which you snuffed out in such a cruel manner.”
Mpofu was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
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