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This file photo shows the scene of the shooting and staged car accident.

Thandeka Moyo from Binga
A SUSPECT in the Binga quadruple homicide kept the brains of female victim Sithembinkosi Moyo in a plastic bottle, a court heard yesterday.Sinola Jameson Dube, a former Rhodesian police officer, was a traditional healer (inyanga), prosecutors said at the Binga Magistrates’ Court, injecting a ritualistic element to the macabre crime which shocked the nation. But Dube and his son, Emmanuel, will not stand trial after they both died, apparently shot by detectives separately during arrest.

Dube’s other son, Hardlife, 20, Lovemore Mudenda, 38, Robert Muleya, 31, and Japhet Muleya, 43, will stand trial over the murders.
Yesterday, Binga magistrate Stephen Ndlovu jailed Japhet Muleya for three years after he admitted supplying 110 rounds of ammunition for an AK-47 rifle used in the dawn executions of Sithembinkosi Moyo, Nkosana Mdlongwa, Alvin Nyirenda and Mthulisi Leon Ndlovu on January 5.

All four suspects appeared before the same magistrate on Monday and were remanded in custody to February 3. Meanwhile, suspects Paul Siachimbo, age not given, and his son Trust, 28, were yesterday fined US$100 each for possessing ammunition for a 303 British rifle as they were cleared over the quadruple homicide.

They told the magistrate they knew the alleged killers as poachers, and had previously supplied them with ammunition for their illegal activities.

Also charged with them was Leonard Mhlanga, who however could not stand trial for possessing 38 rounds of ammunition due to poor health. He told the court he had been tortured in police custody and needed medical attention.

Prosecutors said on December 28 last month, Japhet Muleya issued 110 rounds of ammunition for an AK-47 rifle to Jameson Sinola Dube and his son, Emmanuel. The court heard that on January 5, at Ngongonye River Bridge along Kariangwe-Lusulu Road – the six alleged killers namely Dube and his two sons, Emmanuel and Hardlife, Mudenda, Robert and Japhet Muleya were approached by the victims, Moyo, Mdlongwa, Nyirenda and Ndlovu who were seeking to purchase ivory.

The six were known to operate a poaching syndicate in Muchesu Conservancy and Chizarira National Park, targeting elephants and pangolins, say prosecutors.

The victims – who went around relatives borrowing large sums of money in the days leading up to their deaths – arranged to meet the “poachers” at Siansundu Business Centre, but were later lured to the Ngongonye Bridge.Upon arrival at the bridge along Kariangwe Road at a sharp curve, the six men stopped the quartet who were driving a white Isuzu twin cab. A row ensued, prosecutors say, over money for the illegal merchandise.

After shooting Moyo, Nyirenda and Mdlongwa, the court heard, the six allegedly placed the bodies in the vehicle before pushing it over the bridge to conceal the murder as a road traffic accident.

Moyo’s body – skull cracked open and brains missing – was found in the front seat while Alvin’s was in the back seat and Mdlongwa’s body was recovered from the vehicle’s loading box.
Detectives found Ndlovu’s head about 2km away. His lower body, hands still tied behind, was nearby. His tongue, ears, nose and lips had been sliced off, and his eyes plucked out. Prosecutors say the victims were robbed of an unknown sum of money, two iPhones, five cellphones, one Karbonn smart phone and other valuables. Bruce Maphosa, prosecuting, said an AK-47 rifle with an erased magazine serial number was recovered from Jameson Sinoya Dube’s kraal.

“About 10 spent cartridges at the scene were allegedly supplied by Japhet Muleya. Safety shoes belonging to Robert Muleya, and matching the footprints found at the crime scene, were also recovered,” said Maphosa.

“There is also evidence of communication between the deceased and the accused on the deceased’s phones before the commission of the crime.”

Maphosa said police also recovered the six suspects’ blood-stained clothes and a raincoat whose owner is unknown.
“Police also recovered a bottle containing a substance suspected to be brain tissue and a smaller bottle containing an unknown substance,” he told the court.

“They recovered some United States dollar notes and some rands from the accused men’s homesteads.”
The suspects were denied bail because they were considered a flight risk.