Melusi Dube
(28) and Ntuthuko Moyo (31) appeared briefly before Gwanda magistrate Gillian
Padzakashamba facing murder charges. They were not asked to plead and were
remanded in custody to 9 September, with the magistrate advising them to seek
bail at the High Court.
Prosecutor
Ngonidzashe Shumba told the court that the gruesome attack happened on 10 June
at around 2AM. The accused, together with the now deceased Bruce Sibanda, had
been panning illegally and shared a makeshift shack at the mine.
Trouble started
when Dube and Moyo accused Sibanda of stealing and hiding some of their gold
ore. The court heard that the two ganged up on Sibanda, beating him with fists
and kicking him repeatedly.
In a desperate
bid to save his life, Sibanda bolted from the shack screaming for help. But the
accused pursued him into the darkness, pelting him with stones as he fled. They
eventually caught up with him in the nearby bushes, where they allegedly smashed
him with bricks before leaving him sprawled and lifeless.
Other gold
panners, who had been alerted by Sibanda’s chilling screams, rushed to the
scene only to find his body while the suspects had vanished. They tried to hunt
for Dube and Moyo but the duo had already slipped away.
Police were
later called and Sibanda’s body was ferried to Filabusi District Hospital,
where he was confirmed dead on arrival. After weeks on the run, detectives
finally caught up with the pair on 25 July, leading to their arrest. H Metro
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