{"id":9005,"date":"2025-09-11T09:41:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=9005"},"modified":"2025-09-11T09:41:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:41:47","slug":"brother-convicted-for-ritual-beheading-of-sister-loses-sight-before-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=9005","title":{"rendered":"Brother Convicted for Ritual Beheading of Sister, Loses Sight Before Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Crimes and Courts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CHINHOYI \u2013 In a case that has shocked the nation, the High Court in Chinhoyi has convicted a Magunje man for the brutal 2017 murder of his own sister, a crime the presiding judge described as a tragedy that would haunt the community forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Isaac Mashonga, now 28, was found guilty of beheading his sister, Dadirai Mashonga, in their family kitchen hut in Mashonga Village, Zvipani, after a conspiracy with a local businessman for ritual purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High Court judge Justice Philda Muzofa, sitting with assessors, heard how the horrific incident unfolded in July 2017. The victims&#8217; elderly parents, Champion Mashonga, 93, and his wife, awoke to discover their daughter&#8217;s headless body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo parent can imagine one of his or her children beheading his sibling in their kitchen,\u201d Justice Muzofa said during her judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The court heard that Isaac, then 20, arrived at the homestead on the night of July 13 in the company of a local businessman, Robert Tichareva, known as &#8220;Giant&#8221;. Tichareva, who was also arrested but has since died, allegedly promised Isaac US$4,000 to carry out the killing for ritual use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prosecutors detailed how Isaac led Tichareva directly to the kitchen hut where Dadirai was asleep. She was strangled and then decapitated using a kitchen knife, axe, and a hoe. The pair placed her head in a green satchel and hid it in a derelict building near a business centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following morning, Isaac returned to the homestead wearing blood-soaked clothes. Alert villagers apprehended him and forced him to lead them to the hidden satchel, where his sister&#8217;s head was discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His father, Champion Mashonga, testified,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe confessed and showed us the weapons. As a father, I had no reason to misrepresent the facts. I was simply a troubled father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a tragic twist, Isaac Mashonga lost 80% of his eyesight while awaiting trial, a fact confirmed by prison doctors. Justice Muzofa noted the profound loss for the family, stating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor this elderly couple, they have lost two children at the same time &#8211; one through death and one through incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow us on social media for breaking news:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 X (Twitter): @ZimGbc<br>\u00b7 Instagram: @ZimGBCNews<br>\u00b7 TikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01<br>\u00b7 Facebook: Zim GBC News<br>\u00b7 YouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:<br>+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For in-depth coverage, visit our website: www.zimgbcnews.co.zw<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a92025<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Crimes and Courts CHINHOYI \u2013 In a case that has shocked the nation, the High Court in Chinhoyi has convicted a Magunje man for the brutal 2017 murder of his&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-court"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9008,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9005\/revisions\/9008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}