Chitungwiza – A 51-year-old security guard is battling for his life after he was stabbed five times with a kitchen knife while carrying out his duties at a shopping centre in Chitungwiza.
Emmanuel Sithole was allegedly attacked at a complex in Zengeza 3 at about 10pm after he ordered a man to leave the premises. The suspect, Fungai Tawanda Masaire, 31, of Zengeza 3, is alleged to have confronted Sithole before the dispute turned violent.
The two men are neighbours.
Masaire allegedly told Sithole that he was not comfortable with the presence of security guards at the complex. When Sithole instructed him to leave, Masaire allegedly drew a kitchen knife from the right pocket of his trousers and attacked him.
Sithole was stabbed on the left arm, chin, left side of the chest, left rib and lower abdomen. He was rushed to Chitungwiza Central Hospital, where he was admitted and is receiving treatment.
The attack ended after people nearby heard Sithole shouting for help. As Masaire tried to flee from the scene, members of the public blocked him and stopped him from getting away. Police later arrested him in connection with the stabbing.
Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza confirmed the case and said the suspect had been arrested for attempted murder.
“Police arrested a Zengeza man for attempted murder. The accused was reported to have stabbed the complainant five times using a kitchen knife at a shopping centre in Zengeza 3. The complainant was taken to Chitungwiza where he is receiving treatment,” said Insp Chakanza.
The attack has placed renewed focus on the dangers faced by security guards working late-night shifts at shopping centres, business premises and residential complexes. Guards are often the first people called upon to deal with disputes, trespassing and disorder, even when they are working alone and have limited protection.
In Sithole’s case, the confrontation began with an objection to the presence of guards at the complex. It escalated after he tried to enforce the instruction for Masaire to leave. The five wounds were spread across his arm, face, chest, ribs and abdomen, leaving him in hospital after the incident.
The case is one of several attempted-murder matters appearing in Zimbabwe’s courts and police reports during August 2026. In Binga, a 46-year-old man from Lusulu was jailed after setting fire to a bedroom hut in which family members were sleeping. The incident took place at Kayongolo Village under Chief Pashu on the night of June 12, but the conviction and sentence were reported in August.
The man, Nguquko Moyo, had confronted relatives over an alleged extra-marital affair before setting the hut alight. Five people, including his 66-year-old mother, a 44-year-old man and three children aged 3, 10 and 12, were inside. When a relative entered the burning hut to help, Moyo locked the door from outside, trapping six people inside.
The victims escaped after one of them broke through the rear mud wall of the hut. They made an opening and got out before alerting the police. Further investigations later led officers to four buckets of dagga weighing 12.5 kilogrammes in the area.
Moyo was convicted at Hwange Regional Court on six counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs. The court imposed an effective 10-year prison term. The attempted-murder counts attracted seven years, with one year suspended, while the drug-related offence attracted five years, with one year suspended.
Another case involved two young men who were jailed after a violent dispute over gold ore in Gwanda. Pardon Moyo, 28, and Bruce Ndlovu, 25, were convicted of attempted murder after attacking a man who was walking to his shack from the shops at about 8pm on November 11, 2025. The case was reported in August 2026.
The two men were with two others who remained at large when they confronted the complainant and demanded to know who had stolen their gold ore. The accused worked at a neighbouring mining claim. The victim was stabbed twice, once on the right side of the chest and once on the left arm, leaving him with cuts to both areas.
Moyo and Ndlovu pleaded not guilty but were convicted by Gwanda regional magistrate Mrs Sithembiso Ndebele. They were sentenced to five years in prison for the attack. The case showed how disputes linked to informal mining can quickly become violent, with accusations over valuable ore leading to an attack on a man returning home from the shops.
In Bulawayo, a bar disagreement also ended in an attempted-murder conviction. Vusumuzi Ncube, 35, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after stabbing a patron with a piece of mirror glass. The incident happened at a bar in Makokoba at about 7pm on June 8, when Ncube and Nkazimulo Tshuma were drinking beer and a misunderstanding broke out between them.
The court heard that Ncube armed himself with the broken glass and stabbed Tshuma once on the head, causing a cut. Six months of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition that Ncube did not commit a similar offence during that period.
The cases differ in their circumstances, but each began with a confrontation that turned into a serious attack. In Chitungwiza, the immediate dispute centred on Masaire’s objection to security guards at the complex. In Gwanda, the accused demanded answers over missing gold ore. In Bulawayo, a disagreement between drinking companions led to the use of broken glass. In Binga, a family dispute was followed by a fire in an occupied hut.