HARARE, Jan.5 (NewsDay Live) — A suspected Guruve serial killer accused of unleashing a wave of brutal murders across Mashonaland Central was on Monday remanded in custody to January 19 after making a bedside court appearance at a Harare hospital.
Anymore Zvitsva, whose age was given in court as between 31 and 33, is accused of killing at least 12 people — with police suspecting the number could exceed 15 — in a series of attacks committed between April 2024 and December 2025 in Guruve and Mvurwi.
Zvitsva was arrested on January 3 following a nearly two-week joint police and army manhunt. He was shot in the leg during his arrest and is currently hospitalised. Harare magistrate Vakayi Douglas Chikwekwe advised the accused to seek bail at the High Court.
During the remand proceedings, court officials said Zvitsva repeatedly spoke from his hospital bed, boasting that he had “beaten his father’s record” by boarding a helicopter after committing the alleged crimes. He also allegedly narrated how he wiped out an entire family, including killing a one-and-a-half-year-old baby, claiming no one would have cared for the child.
According to an affidavit filed by Detective Assistant Inspector Peter Gwavuya of the CID Homicide Unit, Zvitsva faces 12 counts of murder, multiple rape charges and attempted murder. Police allege he carried out exceptionally violent attacks in homes, fields and grazing areas, often at night, using snare wire, knives, machetes, spears and poison.
One of the earliest charges relates to March 6, 2025, at Rangwani Village under Chief Chipuriro in Guruve. Police allege that Zvitsva knocked at the homestead of Jane Dube at around 10pm, demanded money, forcibly broke into the house and chased Dube as she fled with her three-year-old child. She was allegedly struck several times with an iron rod and left dead in a maize field.
In April 2024, at Farm 16 Nyakapupu, Guruve, Zvitsva is accused of abducting a woman grazing cattle, raping her at knifepoint, strangling her with wire and hanging her from a tree. Her body was discovered the following day after villagers launched a search.
The court further heard that on October 7, 2025, in Village 3, Berris Post, Mvurwi, Zvitsva allegedly attacked Alice Marangarire while she was searching for cattle, strangling her to death with wire. Her body was found the next day.
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On October 27, 2025, at Mubaiwa Village under Chief Bepura, Guruve, Zvitsva allegedly ambushed Elisha Dickens Chikwavarara and Dudzai Mazuvaawanda on their way to a garden, killing Elisha with an unknown object before strangling and hanging Dudzai from a tree.
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Police also allege that in November 2025 at Plot 31 Nyakapupu, Guruve, Zvitsva strangled Stacey Pulango to death and attacked Alret Kayn using snare wire. Their bodies were later found at the homestead.
On December 9, 2025, at Zimuna Village, Chief Bepura, Zvitsva allegedly broke into a one-roomed house and strangled Pamela Chipangura, Kudzai Chipangura and Tadiwanashe Marasika using snare wire. He is further accused of kidnapping another woman, raping her in the Nyakapupu mountain range, killing her the following day as she tried to escape, and burying her body in the mountains.
In another attack on December 14, 2025, at Ona Farm, Guruve, Zvitsva allegedly stabbed five relatives to death during a night raid, first killing Tatenda Zvitsva in a kitchen hut before entering the main house and stabbing Grace Zvitsva, Loice Chiringaushe, Takudzwa Kariba and Tatenda Chirenje.
On December 22, 2025, at Bosha Village, Chief Bepura, Zvitsva is accused of forcing entry into a homestead, raping two women, poisoning them and strangling them with snare wire. Another woman survived after being choked unconscious during a separate attack at Zvivindi Business Centre on December 13, 2025.
Police told the court that Zvitsva was eventually linked to the crimes after being spotted by a villager while raping a victim in the Nyakapupu mountains, fleeing and leaving behind a spear, cooked food, a solar panel and other items later recovered by investigators.
Opposing bail, prosecutors said Zvitsva had no fixed address, was capable of hiding in remote mountainous terrain, and posed a serious risk to witnesses, many of whom are relatives of the deceased.
“The accused committed several murder cases without remorse and is likely to continue if released,” Gwavuya told the court.
Investigations are ongoing, with police indicating that additional charges may still be brought as more victims are identified.
