A 24-year-old man who for the past years has been terrorising the Shamva community, stealing, raping and mugging residents was last week sentenced to nearly two decades for murder.

Tinotenda Mangenjani (24), nicknamed ‘The Bully of Shamva’, was convicted of brutally stabbing a friend to death over a missing pint of beer.

The incident happened two years ago when Mangenjani and the deceased had a beer binge from morning to evening.

A scuffle broke out and resulted in the death of his friend. The court heard that Mangenjani was a known criminal who brandished a knife and various weapons, instilling fear in and around Shamva. On the day in question, his brother, watched as he butchered the friend.

He even attacked a third party who tried to restrain him. Mangenjani pleaded guilty to the offence. He argued that he was defending himself from his friend’s aggression.

High Court judge, Justice Munamato Mutevedzi, dismissed Mangenjani’s defence saying the court frowns at violent crime.

“The murder was a brazen attack on an innocent man who was peacefully enjoying his drink on the night in question.

“He is an acknowledged ruffian, a roughneck who instilled fear in those who knew his behaviour. His conduct brutalised that society. The police were, at the time this crime was committed, looking for the offender in connection with yet another crime he had allegedly committed,” ruled Justice Mutevedzi.

He said Mangenjani deserved the punishment and society needs to be protected from people like him.

“Absent the mitigating factors outlined in the guidelines coupled with the presence of the serious aggravation stated above, I find no basis to impose a sentence below the presumptive penalty. Instead I am compelled to go a little higher than that to illustrate how much the courts frown at violent crime.

“In the circumstances, the offender is sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment,” said Justice Mutevedzi.