THE High Court has sentenced Sipho Moyo (20) to 16 years in prison for the brutal killing of a 40-year-old man with an axe and a stone.

In her ruling, the judge condemned the wave of violent murders linked to Zimbabwe's gold panners.

Moyo, who was 19 at the time of the crime, was convicted of murder after chasing down the victim at Pinafore Shops in December 2024 and assaulting him with an axe, a stone and booted feet. The victim later died from severe head injuries.

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Justice Evangelista Kabasa, sitting in Hwange, dismissed Moyo's claims of provocation, describing the attack as deliberate and fuelled by revenge.

"Seeking revenge is a completely different story and has nothing in common with acting in the heat of the moment," she said.

"Whether the intention was actual or legal is neither here nor there. Murder is murder."

The court heard how Moyo pursued the deceased until he caught up with him, struck him with a stone, repeatedly kicked him, and then used an axe that caused fatal injuries.

"Why would one use an axe on a human being and not expect that person to be fatally wounded?" Kabasa asked.

In handing down sentence, the judge turned her attention to the mining sector's violence.

"It appears violence is the language which gold panners 'speak'. It is saddening to note the number of murder cases involving gold panners. You appear not to respect the sanctity of life," she said.

While acknowledging Moyo's youth as a mitigating factor, the court noted the seriousness of the offence.

"An axe is never meant to be used on a human being. The assault was vicious, rupturing lung vessels and fracturing the skull. The presumptive penalty, where a weapon has been used, is 20 years imprisonment. We would have imposed 20 years were it not for your youthful age."

Moyo will serve 16 years behind bars.