Serial killings: Mental illness, malice or supernatural?
Source: Serial killings: Mental illness, malice or supernatural? – herald Zimpapers Politics Hub SINCE the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe has periodically been shaken by gruesome cases of serial killings that leave communities traumatised and searching for answers. From urban centres like Harare, Gweru, Marondera and Bulawayo to rural districts such as Guruve, Hwedza, these […]
SINCE the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe has periodically been shaken by gruesome cases of serial killings that leave communities traumatised and searching for answers.
From urban centres like Harare, Gweru, Marondera and Bulawayo to rural districts such as Guruve, Hwedza, these crimes have generated fear, moral panic and intense debate about their root causes. Are these killings the product of untreated mental illness and substance abuse, or are they manifestations of darker spiritual forces believed to haunt individuals and communities? Or, more unsettling still, are they acts of calculated criminality committed by people who fully understand what they are doing?
The recent Guruve killings allegedly committed by Anymore Zvitsva, alongside earlier cases involving Peter Dube in Gweru, Jaison Muvevi in Hwedza, Tongai Rodney Jindu in Bulawayo, Thandolwenkosi Ndlovu, a street kid in Harare and Bright Zhantali in and around Marondera, expose the complexity of this question. Zimbabwe’s experience mirrors a wider African and global struggle to understand serial violence at the intersection of psychology, social breakdown, belief systems and state capacity.
Mental health, drugs and the psychology of violence
Mental health expert, Dr Farzana Naeem, founder of Gateway Mental Health Rehabilitation, situates many of these cases within a matrix of untreated mental illness and substance abuse.
She argues that drug use and mental health challenges are inseparable, particularly in cases involving crystal meth, cannabis and other substances that induce psychosis.
Anymore Zvitsva
According to Dr Naeem, some offenders end up in psychiatric units such as Chikurubi not fully aware of why they committed their crimes, having acted while intoxicated or in a psychotic state.
Several Zimbabwean cases reinforce this view. Jindu told the court that heroin and crystal meth fuelled an overwhelming urge to kill, accompanied by hallucinations of a “black angel” he identified as Lucifer. Zhantali was declared mentally unfit to stand trial and committed to a psychiatric institution, with his alleged crimes handled under the Mental Health Act.
Even Jaison Muvevi, though now certified fit to stand trial, was previously committed to a psychiatric unit after exhibiting instability.
These cases reflect broader mental health challenges in Zimbabwe, where unemployment, social dislocation and limited access to mental health services exacerbate vulnerability. Substance abuse, particularly among young men, has emerged as both a coping mechanism and a trigger for extreme violence. In this context, serial killings may be less about innate evil and more about untreated illness unfolding in a society burdened by drug and substance abuse.
Spirit medium, Sekuru Malvern Mashinge of Harare frames the killings within a historical and cosmological narrative. He argues that the failure to conduct national cleansing rituals after independence left the country spiritually contaminated by the violence of the liberation war.
According to this worldview, the bloodshed of the past demands appeasement, and its neglect manifests in contemporary violence where citizens “kill each other” seemingly without reason.
Peter Dube
This perspective resonates with how some perpetrators describe their actions. Jindu’s invocation of Lucifer, the ritualistic elements seen in the killings by Ndlovu and community interpretations of “evil spirits” haunting offenders suggest that spiritual belief systems shape both the experience and explanation of violence. While courts often dismiss such claims as deflection or delusion, they cannot be ignored in a society where spiritual causality is widely accepted and deeply embedded.
Criminality and calculated violence
Yet not all serial killings can be explained away by illness or spirits. The case of Dube stands as a stark counterpoint. The courts rejected his claims of mental illness, describing his actions and international flight as calculated. His ability to assume a false identity, evade capture across borders and live undetected for about three years points to rational planning rather than psychosis.
Similarly, prosecutors in the Jindu case argued that the narrative of Lucifer emerged late and that his actions before and after the murders demonstrated planning and intent. These cases suggest that some serial killers operate with full awareness, driven by personal motives such as revenge, anger, or a desire for power. In such instances, mental illness and spiritual explanations risk obscuring accountability and justice.
International context of serial killings
Serial killings are not unique to Zimbabwe. Globally, countries such as the United States, Russia and South Africa have recorded high numbers of serial killers, often linked to social fragmentation, inequality and inadequate mental health interventions. In Africa, South Africa stands out, with serial violence frequently intersecting with gender-based violence, substance abuse and historical trauma.
Bright Zhantali
What distinguishes Zimbabwe is the layered interpretation of violence, where Western psychiatric models coexist with indigenous spiritual explanations. This duality complicates prevention and response, but it also offers an opportunity for more holistic approaches that recognise both mental health science and cultural belief systems.
Towards prevention
The Government of Zimbabwe has taken steps to address mental health and substance abuse, including the establishment of rehabilitation centres, psychiatric assessments for accused persons and public campaigns against drug abuse. The use of mental health tribunals and psychiatric certification reflects an attempt to balance justice with treatment.
However, capacity remains limited. Psychiatric services are under-resourced, community-based mental health detection is weak and stigma discourages families from seeking help early. Law enforcement responses, though increasingly coordinated as seen in the Guruve manhunt, are often reactive rather than preventative.
Curbing serial killings requires a multi-layered approach. Strengthening mental health services, expanding rehabilitation for substance abuse and integrating early detection mechanisms at community level are critical.
At the same time, engaging traditional leaders, spirit mediums and churches, as Sekuru Mashinge suggests, may help address the cultural and spiritual dimensions of violence, fostering communal healing rather than denial.
Education is equally vital. Communities must be equipped to recognise warning signs such as extreme isolation, persistent violence, substance dependence and untreated psychosis. Families, often the first witnesses to distress, need support rather than blame when they seek help.
A collective obligation
The horror of serial killings in Zimbabwe cannot be reduced to a single cause. Mental illness, drugs, spiritual belief and conscious criminality intersect in complex ways. The tragedy of Guruve, and cases like that of Zvitsva, underscore the cost of late intervention.
To prevent future bloodshed, Zimbabwe must invest in mental health, confront substance abuse, respect cultural frameworks and uphold justice without excuse.
Above all, communities must act early, identifying distress and rendering help before violence multiplies. In doing so, society honours not only the victims already lost, but also the possibility of preventing the next tragedy.
