A MARRIED couple has been extradited from South Africa back to Zimbabwe to face justice for allegedly killing their four-year-old niece in 2023 before skipping the border.

On March 27, 2025, accused persons, John Zvivi (36) and Alista Sibanda (35), were transported back into Zimbabwe following their dramatic arrest in the neighbouring country.

The duo appeared Saturday before Harare Magistrate Isheunesu Matova, who remanded them in custody and advised to apply for bail at the High Court. They will be back in court on April 11.

Circumstances are that sometime in April 2023, the now deceased Princess Shoko aged four, and her six-year-old sister, Susan Mandaza, were left in the custody of aunt and her husband in Zvimba.

The children's mother Nomsa Sibanda is a sister to Alista.

Upon her return to South Africa, Nomsa left the children in the care of the couple who allegedly started to abuse the two children, subjecting them to beatings and denying them food.

Court heard that in July 2023, Princess Shoko succumbed to injuries inflicted on her and died on July 23, 2023.

In a bid to cover up their heinous crime, accused persons allegedly placed the child's corpse in a sack, and shoved it in the boot of a Honda Fit vehicle before driving to Kuwadzana Extension, where they dumped the body in a stream.

The court heard how the accused persons informed Nomsa Sibanda of her daughter's death but failed to provide her with a satisfactory explanation.

It was further heard that the deceased child's mother returned to Zimbabwe and, on August 1, 2023, reported a missing person's case to ZRP Dzivarasekwa.

The very next day, the slain girl's body was found in the stream in Dzvivarasekwa, Harare.

The remains were positively identified and taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital for a post-mortem. The pathologist's findings were inconclusive as toxicology results were still pending.

Fearing arrest, the Zvivi and his wife fled to South Africa, but the matter was widely circulated on social media leading to their arrest and eventual extradition.

Takudzwa Jambawu prosecuted the matter.