By Dumisani Ndlovu
GWERU — A seemingly trivial dispute involving a US$1 note escalated into a deadly knife attack, resulting in two Gokwe men being sentenced to an effective 30 years in prison each for the murder of a Kwekwe resident.
Prince Magwati, 24, and Onard Musvunguma, 33, were convicted of the murder of 35-year-old Leonard Gombakamba following a violent confrontation at Mbizo 14 Shopping Centre in Kwekwe on September 11, 2025.
The pair were sentenced by Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Naison Chivayo, who was presiding over the third and final 2026 Gweru High Court Circuit.
The court heard that the violence erupted after Gombakamba allegedly forcibly took money and identification documents from Admire Magwati, who remains at large.
Although patrons at the shopping centre initially intervened and appeared to have settled the dispute, Admire later returned with Magwati and Musvunguma, leading to a renewed confrontation with Gombakamba.
State prosecutor Thompson Hove submitted that the murder was committed in aggravating circumstances, pointing to the use of a knife and the escalation of the confrontation into deadly violence.
The prosecution case was that the accused persons initially assaulted Gombakamba with fists before Magwati produced a knife and stabbed him twice — once in the chest and again in the back.
Musvunguma was also actively involved in the attack, the State said, throwing stones at Gombakamba as the assault unfolded.
Eyewitnesses Noris Manyoka and Tawanda Chenjera testified that they saw Magwati stabbing Gombakamba.
Manyoka told the court that Gombakamba collapsed almost immediately and was bleeding heavily from his chest and back.
Police attended the scene and took Gombakamba to Kwekwe General Hospital, where he was certified dead on arrival.
A post-mortem examination conducted by pathologist Dr Sanganai Pesanai attributed the death to acute cardiac failure, haemorrhagic shock and haemothorax caused by severe stab wounds.
In sentencing the two men, Justice Chivayo considered the gravity of the offence, the use of a dangerous weapon, the circumstances surrounding the attack and the mitigation placed before the court.
The judge also upheld the State’s reliance on the doctrine of common purpose, finding that it fitted the circumstances of the case.
The doctrine holds participants criminally liable when they act together with a common purpose in committing an offence, depending on the facts established before the court.
Justice Chivayo also took into account the circumstances in which the attack occurred, including the fact that a dispute involving a relatively insignificant amount of money had culminated in the loss of human life.
He ultimately sentenced both Magwati and Musvunguma to 30 years’ imprisonment each.
The sentence brings the proceedings against the two men to a close, while police continue to pursue Admire Magwati, who remains at large.
