Rusape – A jilted man from Rusape, in Manicaland province, is in police custody after allegedly drenching his estranged wife’s mother in petrol and setting her alight. The incident, which has left the victim hospitalised with serious burns, has prompted an attempted murder charge against the suspect, named as 43-year-old Abraham Muchapondwa.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the horrific event, detailing the circumstances that led to the attack.
Commissioner Nyathi explained that police in Rusape apprehended Loveridge Abraham Muchapondwa (43) in connection with a case of attempted murder which occurred at Chiduku Village, on April 30, 2025. The details of the case are particularly disturbing, with the suspect accused of pouring petrol on his mother-in-law before setting her ablaze.
The motive behind the attack, according to Commissioner Nyathi, stems from Muchapondwa’s separation from his wife. She had sought refuge with her mother, the victim in this case, a situation which appears to have triggered a violent outburst from the accused. The victim is currently receiving medical treatment for the burns she sustained on her head and chest.
This incident comes against a backdrop of other disturbing cases highlighting the complex social and emotional pressures facing Zimbabweans.
In a separate case, a 17-year-old girl from Makove Village under Chief Munyaradzi in Gutu was recently convicted of murder after she killed her two-year-old baby so that she could elope with a new boyfriend. Sitting at the High Court in Masvingo, Justice Helena Charewa however, found serious extenuating circumstances and freed the suspect at the end of the sentencing.
The girl who cannot be named was represented by Pauline Chimwanda of Saratoga Makausi Law Chambers and Mukai Mutume prosecuted. It is the State case that the accused pummeled her baby before throwing it in a well where it died. The girl who had a baby when she was 15 years old found a new boyfriend who could only marry her if she left her baby behind hence her decision to kill the baby.
Justice Charewa agreed with the defense lawyer that the accused had a traumatic past. She lost her mother and was raised by her paternal grandmother after her father neglected her. As a young girl she survived on piece jobs including herding villagers’ cattle. She became sexually susceptible because of her circumstances.
She went on to struggle with the responsibility of looking after the child with the attendant emotional and psychological stress. This is when she met the man who could take her out of her troubles, minus the child.
The defense argued that accused had no intention to kill the child but poverty led her into a cycle of hardships and tragedies affecting her mental health. Justice Charewa said she could only keep her in custody until the end of sentencing and freed her.
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