Tairus Kapeni,
28, had been sentenced to life in jail after he was found guilty of the murder
of Melusi Makwaramba in 2021.
Akim Sibanda,
26, and Admire Ncube were also convicted for the same crime.
Ncube was also
sentenced to life imprisonment while Sibanda was jailed for 30 years.
Kapeni and
Sibanda were released on Wednesday last week following an appeal at the Supreme
Court.
“The conviction
and sentence of the second and third accused be and is hereby set aside and
substituted with the following:
“The second and
third accused are found not guilty and discharged,” read the Supreme Court
judgment. And, the duo, who spent four years in jail, celebrated their freedom
with their wives Portia Siyambelevele, 23, and Last Mangwaira, 25, at Daisy’s
Guest House in Harare.
Kapeni’s second
wife relocated to South Africa following his conviction. Portia had been
staying with his mother, Sikhathazile Ncube.
“I am yet to
believe that this freedom is real considering the trauma I underwent while
serving a sentence for a crime I never committed,” said Kapeni.
“I left my wife
nursing a baby and the second wife was expecting. My tears were never dry and I
could not accept it.
“Allow me to
thank the ZPCS for a family week programme that allowed me to meet my wife,
child as well as time to listen to the radio.
“I want to
thank StarFm Radio, through tete Tilder Moyo Karizamimba, for the prison
inmates programme ‘Behind Bars’ where I got courage to air my views about my
incarceration.
“A legal
practitioner visited us and an appeal was made, our judicial services revisited
our sentence and today this is where we are.
“Prison life is
not good at all, I started at Chinhoyi and I was transferred to Kadoma and
later to Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
“To find my
wife waiting for me, staying with my mother, remains a mystery and I do not
know how to thank her and her parents.”
Sibanda
described his wife as an angel.
“Panoti mukadzi
wangu apa,” he said.
“I was crying
for my wife and praying for my life.
“I left my wife
pregnant, named the child while behind bars.
“She was
visiting me and when she left I would cry even more, feeling jealous that she
might be bedding other men because of the long sentence.
“I can’t wait
to ignite the flames of love and thanks to Daisy’s Guest House owner for this
comforting and healing room. To tete Tilder and her legal team, may the good
Lord grant them the desires of their hearts.”
Last thanked
her mother in-law for support and comforting her.
“Ndirikungofunga
kuti zvichanzi pakanganiswazve murume wangu akudzokerazve muhusungwa,” said
Last. I am still to believe this but I want to thank my mother in-law for the
support, for comforting me with prayers.
“Prayers
replaced my husband and all the support, be it food, clothes for both myself
and child, were from my mother in-law.
“I am on cloud
nine,” said Last.
Portia also
hailed her mother in-law for giving her hope and said her baby was her source
of comfort.
“I accepted the reality that my husband was sentenced to life imprisonment. My baby was my comfort, hope and power to remain with my mother in-law. H Metro
0 comments:
Post a Comment