Man axes stepmother, sets her on fire
A 20-year-old Lupane man who struck his elderly stepmother with an axe before setting her on fire in a dispute over cooking oil has been jailed for 16 years. The High Court sitting in Hwange convicted Sibongiseni Mpofu of murdering 72-year-old Christine Ncube at her homestead under Chief Mabhikwa on May 17, 2025. According to […] The post Man axes stepmother, sets her on fire appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
Black News 
A 20-year-old Lupane man who struck his elderly stepmother with an axe before setting her on fire in a dispute over cooking oil has been jailed for 16 years.
The High Court sitting in Hwange convicted Sibongiseni Mpofu of murdering 72-year-old Christine Ncube at her homestead under Chief Mabhikwa on May 17, 2025.
According to court findings, Mpofu attacked his father’s first wife after visiting her home to request cooking oil, then doused her with an accelerant and set her alight.
He later phoned his brother, Siyabonga Mpofu, telling him “to go and ‘take their aunt as he had killed her’.
The brother and an uncle rushed to the scene and found Ncube with severe head injuries and extensive burns. She was taken to hospital but died about a month later.
Medical evidence showed the extent of the injuries, including “septic deep burns of the head scalp, face, nostrils, orbital region, neck, chest wall mainly upper and anterior, both upper limbs, right lower limb popliteal region and severe eye damages.”
The cause of death was recorded as “anaemia and septicaemia” arising from “petrol burns multiple complications” and assault.
Justice Evangelista Kabasa said the State’s case was supported by consistent testimony from the accused’s brother and father, as well as physical evidence such as blood stains, paraffin drops and the smell of fuel in the hut.
The victim also identified her attacker before her death, with the court ruling: “Her words were a dying declaration and so meet the exception to hearsay evidence.”
Mpofu denied the charge, claiming the woman fell into a fire after he feigned striking her, but the court rejected his defence.
“The accused’s selective memory destroyed whatever little credibility he had… He was a poor witness who could not even tell a lie and stick to it,” Kabasa said.
In sentencing, the judge condemned the brutality of the attack, saying: “She had been gifted with long life which you snuffed out in such a cruel manner.”
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