A 46-year-old Lusulu man has been sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison after he attempted to burn six relatives alive by setting their bedroom hut on fire and locking them inside before police later recovered 12.5kg of dagga linked to him.
Nguquko Moyo was convicted by the Hwange Regional Court on six counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs.
The court heard that the attack occurred on June 12, 2026, at his mother's homestead in Kayongolo Village under Chief Pashu in Lusulu.
Prosecutors said Moyo confronted relatives over allegations of an extramarital affair before storming off in anger.
He allegedly returned and set fire to a bedroom hut where six family members were asleep, including his 66-year-old mother, a 44-year-old relative and three children aged three, 10 and 12.
Related Stories
When another relative rushed into the burning hut to rescue the occupants, Moyo allegedly locked the door from the outside, trapping everyone inside.
The victims escaped only after one of them broke through the rear mud wall, creating an escape route before they alerted authorities.
Police attended the scene at about 5am the following day.
During investigations, Moyo allegedly asked his wife for a cigarette. She produced a sachet of dagga she had retrieved from a nearby bush. A subsequent search led officers to four buckets containing 12.5kg of cannabis.
The Hwange Regional Court sentenced Moyo to seven years' imprisonment for the six counts of attempted murder, with one year suspended. He received a further five-year sentence for unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs, with one year suspended.
He will serve an effective 10-year prison term.
Leave Comments