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Tendai Rupapa: Senior Court Reporter
Nine suspected murderers were yesterday indicted for trial at the High Court with some of the crimes having been committed as far back as 2006 and 2007.

Davison Chikomo, Pension Murema, Patrick Mapita, Tendai Jongwe, Antony Khumbula, Stephen Zimowa, Tichaona Soda, Asani Chikwanda and Chrispen Sibanda appeared before Mr Tendai Mahwe on separate records facing murder charges.

Murema will stand trial on July 16 and Mapita on July 15, while Chikomo’s trial has been set for July 13. Jongwe, Khumbula, Zimowa, Soda, Chikwanda and Sibanda, who are jointly charged, will stand trial at the High Court on July 4.

The nine were served with the relevant papers for them to prepare their defences.

It is the State’s case that Murema allegedly killed his son by putting stones in his clothes and throwing him into a dam. On May 14, 2006 in Magunje, Murema awakened his son (the now deceased) at around 3am and went with him to Bornvalley Farm dam, about two kilometres from their homestead.

Murema, the court heard, put stones into his son’s trousers and threw him into the dam. He drowned. His body was found floating the following day.

According to the State, Chikomo allegedly killed his mother-in-law Memory Gasva in November 2014. On November 15, 2014, Chikomo was at North Farm in Chivhu in the company of Gasva and two others. Chikomo, who accused Gasva of bewitching him, took her and some relatives to an apostolic church for “cleansing’ and on their way back, they drank maheu which had been prepared by Gasva. Chikomo, the State alleges, started complaining of stomach pains.

He accused his mother-in-law of trying to kill him before picking a stone which he used to hit her on the head. Gasva screamed for help and tried to run away, but she tripped and fell down and Chikomo picked another stone and hit her on the head twice, and she later died at hospital.

Mapita, the State alleges, killed his son on May 21, 2013 over sour milk.

Jongwe, Khumbula, Zimowa, Soda, Chikwanda and Sibanda reportedly killed a Harare man after robbing him at his house during the night.