MASVINGO — Standing before a regional magistrate and asked to explain a months-long armed robbery spree that that culminated in the killing of two police officers, Daniel Munyanyi had a simple answer: evil spirits made him do it.

“I was possessed by evil spirits,” Munyanyi told the Masvingo Magistrates Court on March 2. “I would only realise after committing the offence.”

The explanation did not move Masvingo magistrate Innocent Bepura. Munyanyi, of Ndume Village under Chief Ndanga in Zaka, was convicted and sentenced on the same day to 72 years in prison on six counts of armed robbery, with 10 years suspended on each count.

The 32-year-old had appeared before Bepura on fast-track hearings. He pleaded guilty to all six robbery counts.

He also appeared before a different magistrate Elizabeth Hanzi on two counts of murder linked to the killing of two police detectives last week and was remanded to March 17, 2026.

Detective Sergeant Bernard Chimbeke, 37, and Detective Constable Casper Antonio McKenzie Chitsowe, 43, both attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Homicide Division in Harare were allegedly gunned down by Munyanyi while attempting to arrest him on the armed robbery charges.

He will be tried in the High Court on the double murder charges.

Before pronouncing sentence, Bepura pressed Munyanyi on his crimes. Munyanyi appealed for leniency, describing himself as a family man.

“I’m married with three children and I look after my mother,” he said.

Bepura acknowledged that Munyanyi was a first offender who had pleaded guilty, but said the gravity of the offences left no room for a light sentence.

“The court salutes those who admit to their offences, but robbery is a very serious offence which can attract life imprisonment or a lengthy custodial sentence,” he said.

The magistrate described the robberies as having been carried out in aggravating circumstances – with firearms, physical violence, and victims bound and threatened with death.

“You were not hesitant in committing these offences. Complainants were threatened with firearms, violence and dangerous weapons and were even threatened with death,” Bepura said.

He added that Munyanyi posed a clear danger to the public.

“The offender has shown that he is dangerous and must be removed from the public.”

The robberies took place between June 2025 and January 2026, spanning Zaka, Bikita and Gutu, with Munyanyi and accomplices – who remain at large – raiding homes and shops under cover of night, armed with pistols and machetes.

In one particularly brazen attack, the gang tied up a local chief in Zaka along with his family members, using shoelaces as restraints, and made off with US$10,000.

In other incidents, the gang stole vehicles – including a Toyota Porte, a Toyota Mark X and a Honda Fit Hybrid – as well as cash, groceries, airtime and cellphones.

Most of the stolen property was never recovered.

In one incident in Gutu, Munyanyi fired two gunshots at residents who had given chase as he fled a house he had just raided.

Munyanyi was arrested on March 2, 2026, at Nyika Growth Point while in possession of a firearm, after which he confessed. Police recovered some of the vehicles and a Star 9mm pistol.

Prosecutor Innocent Mudzingwa urged the court to impose stiff sentences, saying the gang had shown particular contempt for the sanctity of people’s homes.

“The accused invaded the privacy of complainants in places that are supposed to be safe such as homes. He destroyed property, used violence and stole complainants’ hard-earned money and property,” Mudzingwa said.

Many of the victims were businesspeople whose livelihoods depended on the stolen property, some of which was never returned.

Bepura said the pattern of violence had sent shockwaves through communities across Masvingo province.

“Robbery involving firearms sends shivers down the spines of the public. The manner in which these offences were committed shows that one is not safe even in his own house,” he said.

“There is no way to escape a custodial sentence. Such acts of violence cannot be downplayed.”

(Additional reporting Masvingo Mirror)