Justice Mawadze’s Son Separated From Accomplices as Sipho Murder Trial Begins six years later

By Staff Reporter

THE High Court has dismissed the application for discharge filed by two men accused of murdering Harare cellphone dealer Sipho “Million” Ncube. In a ruling delivered by Justice Tommasi, the court established that the state provided sufficient circumstantial and forensic evidence to require the accused to mount their defense.

The application for discharge at the close of the state’s case was officially rejected.

Elvin Saungweme Dongo and Dellon David Balani must now enter their defense. The trial of the third co-accused, Munyaradzi Mawadze (the son of a High Court judge), has been separated from Dongo and Balani’s case.

The court ruled that forensic evidence—including blood-stained clothing and a knife matching Ncube’s DNA profile—was strong enough to sustain the trial.

The ruling stems from the March 2020 murder of Ncube, a well-known cellphone dealer operating in central Harare.

The state alleges the suspects posed as smartphone buyers, lured Ncube into their vehicle, and drove him to a secluded area where they robbed him of high-end iPhones before slitting his throat and dumping his body in Ruwa.

Masvingo High Court Judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze’s murder accused son was in 2020  granted bail after languishing in custody for over a month.

Munyaradzi Mawadze’s accomplices Elvin Dongo Saungweme and Dello David Balani were also  granted bail. The trio stands accused of killing Harare phone dealer Million ‘Sipho’ Ncube by slitting his throat with a knife after robbing him of three iPhone Promax 11 cellphones.