TWO brothers–Chrispen and Taurai Sanyatwe–served FOUR years in jail for a crime they didn’t commit. Convicted of stock theft in 2021, the brothers from Rusape were branded criminals and sent to prison. Their story is one of investigative failings, judicial errors and prosecutorial negligence – an enduring reminder of how fragile justice can be.
Their ordeal began on November 14, 2020, in Tikwiri Village, when Diana Murombe reported two of her oxen were missing. She wasted no time in accusing the Sanyatwe brothers of theft, and the wheels of justice turned with alarming speed. Their hopes of overturning the conviction dimmed when their appeal at the High Court was dismissed.
But the truth, like the stray cattle that would later emerge, could not remain hidden forever. In a stunning twist, the oxen Murombe had reported stolen were found in Mutambira Village, under Chief Tandi. In an affidavit, she admitted that the animals, now recovered, were back in her possession.
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Police corroborated this finding and the evidence began to unravel. With this new information, the brothers’ legal team, led by Pepukai Mabundu and assisted by Brian Kashangura, approached the Supreme Court to challenge the flawed convictions. Appearing before Justices Antonio Guvava, Nicholas Mathonsi, and Hlekani Mwayera, Mabundu tore to shreds the original case with precision. “The report made by the complainant against the appellants was clearly false,” Mabundu argued.
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