By Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI – Former Ward 19 councillor Lovemore Muchono (42) was arrested on Tuesday at
a homestead in Chipinge, ending a 10-month manhunt for the man accused of raping and
murdering four-year-old Steadfast Makondo, the same day the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
declared his council seat vacant.
Contrary to an earlier report that Muchono had handed himself to the police, acting Masvingo
Provincial Spokesperson Assistant Inspector Itayi Zivhave said he was arrested in Chipinge after
police received a tip-off.
She said the detectives found Muchono hiding at a relative’s homestead, identified as Solomon
Muchono, in Vheneka Village, Chief Garahwa, Chipinge. He was detained at Chiredzi Police
Station and was expected to appear in court on October 15.
“Detectives received a tip-off that Lovemore was hiding at a relative’s place in Chipinge. They
proceeded to the area and arrested him. He is expected to appear in court,” said Ass Insp
Zivhave.
The now deceased, an ECD learner at Chiredzi Government Primary School, went missing on 27
January 2026 while travelling home from school. Muchono was her transporter and the last
person seen with her.
Her body was found the following day under a Marula tree in Newtown, Chiredzi, with multiple
bruises. Post-mortem results later confirmed she had been raped before being murdered.
Muchono initially reported her missing and even participated in search efforts. He attended her
funeral on 2 February before suddenly disappearing, leaving behind a handwritten confession
letter in his car.
In the letter, Muchono claimed Steadfast had accidentally suffocated after he forgot to drop her at
school and left her in his vehicle with the windows closed while he went to work. He claimed he
only realised his mistake at lunchtime and transported the body to Chitsanga Hill to conceal the
incident.
That account directly contradicts the post-mortem findings of rape and murder. National police
spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed that the matter was being treated as murder.
On the same day Muchono was arrested, ZEC announced that Ward 19 had become vacant by
operation of law after the incumbent councillor missed three consecutive ordinary council
meetings without permission. Nomination courts will sit on 28 October 2026, with the by-
election scheduled for 28 November 2026.
The tragedy revived painful memories of a similar 2021 incident in which three-year-old Celine
Phiri and four-year-old Lynet Mukungati suffocated in a pre-school owner’s vehicle boot.
