Serial killer Rodney Tongai Jindu awaits a new sentence at Bulawayo High Court next week, stirring painful memories for victims' families. His gruesome murders included eating his victims' organs, creating a wave of horror across Zimbabwe. The upcoming court appearance threatens to reopen emotional wounds for relatives forced to recall their loved ones' final moments. The legal journey has taken families through years of grief as they seek closure from these terrible crimes.
Jindu originally received a death sentence from Justice Nokuthula Moyo at Bulawayo High Court in 2018. His fate changed when President Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill, sparing him along with 48 other death row inmates. The new law mandates that murder with aggravating circumstances carries 20 years to life imprisonment instead of execution. Jindu currently resides at Khami Maximum Prison and will appear for re-sentencing on April 14. This legal shift marks a significant change in how Zimbabwe handles its most serious criminal cases.
The public first learned about Jindu on February 3, 2017, when news broke about him murdering his childhood friend Cyprian Kudzurunga, 28. He buried Kudzurunga in a shallow grave at a Burnside suburb plot in Bulawayo. Jindu told investigators he killed Kudzurunga because he feared exposure of an earlier murder. He tried covering his tracks by texting Kudzurunga's mother, pretending her son had suddenly left the country. His calculated deception shocked both local communities and people following the case nationally.
The horror deepened when Jindu described murdering another friend, Mboneli Ncube, 30. He claimed a cross-border transporter offered him US$20,000 or a Toyota Quantum for Ncube's body parts. Jindu delivered Ncube's body to this person, who took the head, hands, and legs, leaving Jindu with the torso. He placed these remains in a plastic bag, transported them via wheelbarrow to the same Burnside plot, and burned and buried them near Kudzurunga's grave. Police arrested Jindu after discovering these remains.
Jindu showed no remorse during his 2018 court appearance, admitting to shooting both friends and consuming their flesh. This disturbing behavior prompted Justice Moyo to order a psychiatric evaluation under the Mental Health Act. Two state doctors examined Jindu and certified him mentally fit for trial. He later claimed he had hired neighbors to dig graves and said he had acted under the influence of heroin and methamphetamine during the murders.
Justice Moyo rejected his defense and convicted Jindu of two murders with actual intent under aggravating circumstances. She described his actions as meticulously executed, noting he carried a gun from his mother's home and attempted to hide his crimes through deceptive messages. The judge found him unremorseful, dismissing his claims about being influenced by Lucifer as fabrications. She stated that if Jindu did not deserve capital punishment, the death penalty provision in Zimbabwe law would become meaningless.
Jindu originally received a death sentence from Justice Nokuthula Moyo at Bulawayo High Court in 2018. His fate changed when President Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill, sparing him along with 48 other death row inmates. The new law mandates that murder with aggravating circumstances carries 20 years to life imprisonment instead of execution. Jindu currently resides at Khami Maximum Prison and will appear for re-sentencing on April 14. This legal shift marks a significant change in how Zimbabwe handles its most serious criminal cases.
The public first learned about Jindu on February 3, 2017, when news broke about him murdering his childhood friend Cyprian Kudzurunga, 28. He buried Kudzurunga in a shallow grave at a Burnside suburb plot in Bulawayo. Jindu told investigators he killed Kudzurunga because he feared exposure of an earlier murder. He tried covering his tracks by texting Kudzurunga's mother, pretending her son had suddenly left the country. His calculated deception shocked both local communities and people following the case nationally.
The horror deepened when Jindu described murdering another friend, Mboneli Ncube, 30. He claimed a cross-border transporter offered him US$20,000 or a Toyota Quantum for Ncube's body parts. Jindu delivered Ncube's body to this person, who took the head, hands, and legs, leaving Jindu with the torso. He placed these remains in a plastic bag, transported them via wheelbarrow to the same Burnside plot, and burned and buried them near Kudzurunga's grave. Police arrested Jindu after discovering these remains.
Jindu showed no remorse during his 2018 court appearance, admitting to shooting both friends and consuming their flesh. This disturbing behavior prompted Justice Moyo to order a psychiatric evaluation under the Mental Health Act. Two state doctors examined Jindu and certified him mentally fit for trial. He later claimed he had hired neighbors to dig graves and said he had acted under the influence of heroin and methamphetamine during the murders.
Justice Moyo rejected his defense and convicted Jindu of two murders with actual intent under aggravating circumstances. She described his actions as meticulously executed, noting he carried a gun from his mother's home and attempted to hide his crimes through deceptive messages. The judge found him unremorseful, dismissing his claims about being influenced by Lucifer as fabrications. She stated that if Jindu did not deserve capital punishment, the death penalty provision in Zimbabwe law would become meaningless.
