KEY POINTS

• Nkayi man sentenced to life for murdering ex-girlfriend.

• He stabbed Princess Janet Ncube 13 times.

• He received an additional five years for attacking a 72-year-old man.

A 45-year-old man from Nkayi, Zimbabwe, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his former girlfriend in a knife attack after she ended their relationship and returned home to escape an abusive relationship.

The High Court in Hwange also handed him an additional five-year prison sentence for attempting to murder a 72-year-old man in a separate attack on the same night. Both sentences will run consecutively, meaning he will serve them one after the other.

Victim returned home to escape abuse

According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, the offender murdered Princess Janet Ncube after she rejected his demands to reconcile.

The former couple had lived together in South Africa, where Ncube reportedly experienced an abusive relationship. She returned to Nkayi in December 2025 in an attempt to escape the violence.

Ncube later worked as a cook at Inkisela Lodges before settling at her mother’s homestead in Mbondweni Village, under Chief Tshugulu.

However, her former partner reportedly refused to accept the separation. Prosecutors said he repeatedly pressured her to resume the relationship and threatened to kill her and members of her family when she refused.

The man allegedly documented his intentions in a six-page handwritten letter before travelling to Nkayi, where he began tracking Ncube and her relatives.

Man stabs former girlfriend 13 times

The attack occurred on January 28, 2026, at about 8pm, after Ncube left Inkisela Lodges with her new boyfriend.

Her former partner reportedly intercepted the pair and threatened the man accompanying her. Fearing for his safety, the new boyfriend fled.

The attacker then seized Ncube and dragged her towards the nearby Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) offices in Nkayi.

He repeatedly stabbed her with a knife, inflicting 13 wounds. Ncube died at the scene from her injuries.

Elderly man attacked minutes later

The violence continued about 30 minutes later when the offender attacked a 72-year-old man near Junction Down Stores.

He stabbed the elderly victim once in the back with the same knife used in Ncube’s murder.

The man survived the attack and was taken to Nkayi District Hospital for medical treatment.

Police subsequently arrested the suspect after investigating both incidents. Detectives recovered a blood-stained Okapi knife believed to have been used in the attacks, as well as the six-page handwritten letter outlining the offender’s intentions.

The evidence was presented in court and formed part of the case that resulted in the life sentence for murder and an additional five years for attempted murder.