A Harare woman will spend the next 20 years behind bars after the High Court convicted her of strangling her lover to death during a bitter argument over sadza at their Epworth home in December 2025.
Justice Catherine Bachi Mzawazi handed down the sentence on October 27, 2026, rejecting Charlotte Choto's claim that she killed Jehu Rubaba in self-defence and ruling that she continued choking him long after he had collapsed and posed no threat.
How a Family Meal Turned Into Murder
According to NewZimbabwe.com, the tragedy began on December 27, 2025, when Rubaba returned home from a beer hall to find his family eating chicken and rice. He wanted sadza, his preferred meal after drinking, and objected to what was on the table.
When Rubaba tried to cook sadza for himself, Choto refused to allow it. The couple argued, and the fight followed him into the bedroom, where the door closed and the violence began.
Choto told the court that Rubaba threw a punch that missed and smashed a window, then grabbed her by the throat. She said she seized the hood of his jacket from behind and strangled him while defending herself.
Why the Court Rejected the Self-Defence Claim
Justice Mzawazi dismissed that account outright. She found that Choto kept her grip on Rubaba's neck even after he had collapsed and soiled himself, a clear sign that he was helpless.
When the deceased messed himself, which is a clear indication of collapse, why did she not release the grip?
The judge asked that question directly from the bench, and she answered it herself with a finding that no imminent danger justified the continued strangulation.
The continued strangulation up to the point of breaking an adult male's neck is not proportionate force to ward off any attack.
The court heard further damning evidence. After Rubaba collapsed, Choto continued assaulting him with her hands and a broken metal key handle, inflicting injuries to his inner thighs and testicles. The judge described this as torture and degrading treatment of a helpless victim.
Police who attended the scene found Rubaba's decomposing body lying in a pool of blood. Scratch marks on the floor told the story of a man fighting desperately for his life.
What Choto Did After the Killing
The details that emerged in court were chilling. Choto allegedly called her three children to witness what she had done to their stepfather. She then cleaned the room using the dead man's clothes, bathed, changed, and slept in another room with the body still in the house.
The next day she spent hours visiting an elderly friend, returned home, and slept another night beside Rubaba's remains. Only on December 29 did she approach the police, initially claiming Rubaba had come home injured from a beer hall. She confessed after officers visited the scene and questioned her.
Justice Mzawazi found her confirmed police statement more credible than her testimony, noting she had given three materially inconsistent versions of events.
The Sentence and the Judge's Warning
The State failed to prove Choto planned the killing, so the court convicted her of murder with constructive intent in aggravating circumstances. That means she should reasonably have foreseen that prolonged strangulation could cause death.
263Chat reported that Justice Mzawazi convicted Choto of murder with constructive intent in aggravating circumstances after dismissing her self-defence claim. The judge said a 25-year term would have been appropriate had it not been for mitigating factors, including her status as a first offender, her remorse, and nearly 10 months already spent in pre-trial detention.
Precious life was needlessly lost over Sadza, a meal.
Justice Mzawazi said the violence had escalated step by step, from refusing to prepare the meal, to blocking Rubaba from cooking, to insulting him, dragging him, and finally fighting him.
This death or altercation could have been prevented by a simple walking away, an exercise of self-control and anger management.
The judge delivered a stark warning that unchecked domestic violence in our homes can end in fatal consequences. Our courts have spoken, and the message is clear: no grievance, however heated, justifies taking a human life.
A Troubled Past, a Brutal End
The court heard that Choto was orphaned in infancy, raised by maternal relatives, married as a teenager, divorced, and became a single mother before living with Rubaba for five years. She asked the court and Rubaba's family for forgiveness.
But the victim impact statement revealed a darker pattern. Rubaba's relatives said Choto had repeatedly beaten him, and they had come to his rescue and warned him about the relationship. The judge found no evidence of battered woman syndrome that might have explained her actions as anger released after prolonged abuse.
The accused literally squeezed the life out of the deceased through asphyxiation. In addition, she further punished a helpless, lifeless victim through further assaults and mutilations.
Rubaba left behind four young children who have lost both a father and a breadwinner. iHarare News reported that the killing began over a demand for sadza at the couple's Domboramwari home in Epworth.
FAQ
Who was sentenced in the Epworth sadza murder case?
Charlotte Choto, 39, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by High Court judge Justice Catherine Bachi Mzawazi for the murder of her lover, Jehu Rubaba.
When did the murder take place?
The murder occurred on December 27, 2025, at the couple's home in Domboramwari, Epworth. Choto reported the matter to police on December 29.
Why was Choto convicted of murder with constructive intent?
The court found she did not plan the killing but should reasonably have foreseen that continued strangulation could cause death, and she assaulted the victim after he collapsed.
What sentence did the judge consider appropriate?
Justice Mzawazi said a 25-year prison term would have been fitting without mitigating circumstances, but she reduced it to 20 years given Choto's remorse and personal background.