A 17-year-old boy has been acquitted of murder after the High Court found the State had failed to prove that he stabbed a fellow teenager to death at a New Year's Eve gathering, with the judge sharply criticising adults for allowing children as young as 13 to be out at a nightclub at 3am.
Justice Emilia Muchawa described the case as "heartbreaking", saying the ages of the accused, deceased and witnesses exposed a disturbing breakdown in family and societal responsibility.
The court heard that Nyasha Chagunda was stabbed once in the stomach at Kuwadzana 6 Shopping Centre in Harare at about 3am on January 1, 2026.
He suffered a 3cm penetrating abdominal wound, with his intestines protruding, and died from haemorrhagic shock at Sally Mugabe Hospital several hours later.
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But after a four-day trial, Muchawa found that the State had failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that Mthandazilwa Gumede was the person who delivered the fatal blow.
"This was a heartbreaking murder case to preside over," Muchawa said.
"The absurdity of this case lies in the ages of the deceased, the accused and the witnesses; their involvement in criminal proceedings such as these has been deeply concerning."
The judge reserved some of her strongest criticism for the circumstances surrounding the teenagers who were at Lakers Night Club when the incident occurred.
"It is both astounding and disappointing that children aged 13, 14, 16 and 17 years were outdoors at 0300 hours, on the morning of the new year," she said.
"Not only were they outdoors in the dead of the night, but they were essentially loitering at a nightclub."
Muchawa said adults present had a duty to intervene.
"It cannot be ignored that all the adults in the vicinity lacked the mindfulness, compassion and wisdom to instruct these children to go home," she said.
Invoking the African proverb that "it takes a village to raise a child", the judge said society had a responsibility to protect children around it.
She also criticised the nightclub for allowing minors into its premises.
"Lakers Night Club was irresponsible in giving minor children access to its facilities," she said.
The court noted that Gumede himself testified that he, aged about 16 or 17 at the time, had entered the bar, as had his 13-year-old brother.
"It goes without saying that all the minor children milling around had unfettered access into the bar," Muchawa said.
She said the criticism was particularly important because the Constitution requires courts, especially the High Court as the upper guardian of children, to protect minors.
The murder itself unfolded amid a large crowd gathered for New Year celebrations.
The State's case rested largely on the evidence of Takudzwanashe Chaurura, who claimed Gumede had confronted Chagunda over a hat belonging to Gumede's brother.
Chaurura initially told the court that he had seen Gumede drop an okapi knife, retrieve it after overpowering him and then stab Chagunda.
But under cross-examination, his account unravelled.
He conceded that he had not actually seen the stabbing, despite initially claiming that he had witnessed it.
The judge found his evidence riddled with inconsistencies, including his changing account of where the alleged 30cm knife had been carried.
"We, overall, concluded that Chaurura was not a credible witness," Muchawa said.
The court was also troubled by the fact that the alleged murder weapon was never recovered, despite the incident occurring in a public place surrounded by a crowd of more than 50 people.
A second teenager, 14-year-old Leon Matopo, gave evidence for the defence and provided a dramatically different account.
Leon said he had seen a boy in a red T-shirt being assaulted by more than 20 people.
He identified Chagunda as one of those assaulting the boy.
Leon then saw two men wearing white Muslim attire and red-and-white headgear walk past Chagunda.
Shortly afterwards, Chagunda grabbed his stomach, knelt and his intestines protruded.
Leon said he did not see a knife or identify which of the two men had caused the injury.
The teenager was visibly traumatised by what he had witnessed, telling the court that he could not eat for four days after seeing Chagunda's protruding intestines.
Muchawa found Leon credible, noting that he had no apparent interest in the case and had been reluctant to testify.
"We accepted Leon's evidence as credible," the judge said.
"He had no personal interests in the events of the night, animosity or incentives."
She said Leon had remained consistent under "gruelling cross-examination" and had only testified after being subpoenaed.
"He did not venture answers for events he did not witness, and his demeanour reflected a child who was clear on the importance of telling the truth and correcting what he perceived to be a miscarriage of justice," Muchawa said.
The court also raised concerns about the police investigation, particularly the handling of another minor witness, Angel Maya.
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Maya was declared hostile after disowning a statement attributed to her by police.
The investigating officer admitted that the person who signed as Maya's guardian was the accused's aunt, rather than Maya's own guardian.
Muchawa described the investigating officer's conduct as irresponsible and said allegations surrounding the recording of statements involving minors needed investigation.
"The investigating officer acted irresponsibly in not insisting on the presence of Angel Maya's guardian and not realising the inherent conflict which arose in having the accused's aunt sign as guardian for Angel Maya, a minor," she said.
"All the allegations raised in this matter on how the statements were recorded, need to be investigated and corrected."
The judge said two mutually destructive versions had emerged: the State's contention that Gumede stabbed Chagunda and the defence version implicating one of the two Muslim-attired men.
Ultimately, the State carried the burden of proving Gumede's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
"We believe that the accused's defence is sufficient in that there is a reasonable possibility that it may be substantially true," Muchawa said.
"This means that State has dismally failed to muster the requisite threshold, in this case, to prove beyond reasonable doubt."
Gumede was accordingly found not guilty of murder and acquitted.
