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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter—

Fatally stabbing a person in order to steal a cellphone worth $10 has left a robber languishing on the death row while his youthful partner in crime was slapped with a 20-year prison term for the horrendous offence.Tinashe Chikosha (31), who was in the company of Walter Nenyere (23) approached Mr Kenneth Chakauya, who was at Agrifoods Bus Stop in Mbare and stabbed him on the arm with a knife in the course of a robbery.

High Court judge Justice Happias Zhou convicted the duo for murder with actual intent but Chikosha was sentenced to death while Nenyere was committed to prison. Nenyere was 20 years old when he committed the offence and youthfulness, as enshrined in the new Constitution, saved him from the hangman’s noose.

In terms of the new supreme law of the country, death penalty cannot be imposed on youths under 21 years, women and those above 70 years old.

However, in terms of the law, Chikosha has an automatic right of appeal at the Supreme Court. Although Nenyere did not physically stab the now deceased person, he was found guilty of murder with actual intent in terms of the doctrine of common purpose.

Justice Zhou found no extenuating circumstances in the matter.

“This court therefore finds that the second accused person (Nenyere) acted in common purpose with the first accused person (Chikosha) in committing the offence of murder.

“The murder was committed with actual intent to kill. In the result, both accused persons are found guilty of murder as defined in Section 47 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act,” he ruled.

On September 28 2013, the now late Mr Chakauya met his girlfriend Ms Jane Ndaneta in Mbare.

After the meeting, the two walked to the bus stop intending to get transport to the city centre. While at the bus stop, Chikosha and Nenyere pounced on the couple, pretending to be police officers.

They demanded to know why the lovebirds were at the bus stop in the evening before attacking Mr Chakauya.

They threatened to take the couple to the police station before Chikosha drew out a knife and stabbed Mr Chakauya while Nenyere forcibly took away a cellphone from Ms Ndaneta.

Chikosha fled the scene of crime but was later apprehended by the mob and taken to the police station.

Nenyere escaped but was arrested in Epworth a few days later after he had already sold the cellphone for $10.

He had already spent the money at a bottle store in Epworth at the time of the arrest.

A local motorist, Mr Peter Jeri discovered the body drenched in blood while on the ground, picked it up and took it to the police station.