In a landmark ruling, Charles Tongai Jindu, a Zimbabwean serial killer, has been sentenced to two life terms for the brutal murders of his friends, Cyprian Kudzurunga and Mboneli Ncube, in 2017. Jindu’s heinous crimes shocked the nation with their extreme brutality.

According to court records, Jindu shot Kudzurunga on January 29, 2017, and buried him in a shallow grave in Bulawayo’s Burnside suburb. He then sent messages to Kudzurunga’s mother, pretending to have left the country suddenly. Ncube’s murder was even more gruesome, with Jindu dismembering his body and burying it in four shallow graves, attempting to destroy some of the remains by setting them on fire.

Jindu claimed that substance abuse, specifically heroin and methamphetamine, influenced his actions. However, medical evaluations deemed him fit to stand trial. The court found him guilty of premeditated murder with extreme brutality, citing aggravating circumstances.

Initially, Jindu was sentenced to death in 2018 for his crimes, which included not only murder but also cannibalism, with reports suggesting he admitted to eating the brains of his victims. However, with Zimbabwe’s abolition of capital punishment in 2024, his sentence was commuted to two life terms, ensuring he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.