The High Court has slapped a Plumtree man, who gruesomely killed his in-laws in 2022, with two life imprisonment sentences.

Tafirei Ndlovu, whose age was not given, was found guilty on two counts of murder by the High Court sitting in Bulawayo.

The court held that the cold-blooded killings were committed in Plumtree under aggravated circumstances, noting that they were premeditated and involved gratuitous violence.

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Court heard that on April 14, 2022, Ndlovu, acting in connivance with his accomplice Kudzanai Mathukuthu, who is still at large, murdered his father-in-law, Xolani Mpofu and mother-in-law, Sibalungele Ncube.

The victims were savagely assaulted with axes before being dragged into a kitchen hut, which was then set alight. The harrowing incident unfolded around 2am and witnessed by Nomusa Nyoni, who is Ndlovu's wife and the daughter of the deceased.

It was heard that the attack stemmed from an estrangement between Ndlovu and his wife, who had left their matrimonial home in Botswana in April 2022 after 13 years of marriage as a result of marital problems. Her return to her parents' home angered Ndlovu.

Court heard that the previous day before the incident, Ndlovu contacted his mother-in-law, claiming he wanted to reconcile with his wife and the rest of the family.

However, he arrived in the dead of the night and committed the heinous murders before kidnapping his wife, forcing her to cross back illegally into Botswana. Fortunately, she managed to alert border police on patrol and informed them of her kidnapping and her parents' murder.

The pair fled the scene but Ndlovu was apprehended before making good his escape, while his co-accused disappeared and is still at large.