2 Men Found Guilty Of Phone Dealer’s 2020 Murder, High Court Judge’s Son Faces Separate Trial

Two men have been convicted of murdering a Harare cellphone dealer in 2020, while the son of a High Court judge, who was charged alongside them, is facing a separate trial in the long-running case.

Elvin Saungweme Dongo and Dellon David Balani were convicted by the High Court on Thursday, 22 October 2026, over the killing of Sipho Million Ncube. They are awaiting sentencing, while their co-accused, Munyaradzi Mawadze, is being tried separately.

Mawadze is the son of Justice Garainesu Mawadze, a senior Zimbabwean judge. The case has attracted attention because of the family connection and earlier legal disputes over who should preside over the separate trial.

DNA Evidence Links Men To Phone Dealer’s Murder

According to New Zimbabwe, prosecutors relied on forensic evidence, including blood-stained clothing recovered from Dongo’s residence and a knife found in Waterfalls. DNA tests linked blood on both items to Ncube.

Investigators also told the court that Dongo identified where Ncube’s body was found, while Balani allegedly led police to the location where the knife was recovered.

High Court judge Justice Malin Tommasi highlighted the forensic evidence in an earlier ruling, saying:

“There is objective forensic evidence linking the blood found on the clothing recovered from the 1st accused’s residence, as well as that found on the knife pointed out by accused 2 and recovered in Waterfalls, to the deceased.”

Judge’s Son’s Separate Trial

Mawadze was charged with Dongo and Balani after Ncube was killed in March 2020. The prosecution alleges that the men planned to rob and kill the cellphone dealer.

In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that a retired or foreign judge should preside over Mawadze’s trial, citing concerns about a serving judge hearing a case involving a fellow judge’s son.

The latest convictions mark a major development in a case that began after Ncube disappeared, triggering searches by his relatives and business associates. Mawadze’s separate proceedings remain distinct from the other two men’s convictions.

The post appeared first on iHarare News.