Former Commissioner’s wife sentenced in Gweru kidnapping case

ZIMSPHERE

GWERU – Sakhile Tanyanyiwa, 34, wife of former Commissioner Mekia Tanyanyiwa who headed the ZRP Support Unit, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment today by the Gweru Magistrates Court for kidnapping a two-month-old infant. 

Image: Freepik

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reports that six months of the sentence were suspended for five years, leaving Tanyanyiwa to serve 12 months.

The incident occurred on March 8, 2024, when the infant's mother was returning from Gweru Provincial Hospital after collecting her baby's birth record. 

She was offered a lift by Tanyanyiwa, who was accompanied by another man and woman in a white Toyota Aqua, registration number AFW 6208.

The group made a stopover at 6247 South View, where Tanyanyiwa asked the mother to help a "newly born" woman disembark from the vehicle. 

As she did so, the car sped off towards the Gweru - Bulawayo highway with her baby inside. The incident was promptly reported to the police.

Tanyanyiwa took the child home, claiming to her husband that she had given birth. However, her husband doubted her story, especially after hearing news of a baby being snatched in Gweru. 

He took Tanyanyiwa and the baby to CID Gweru, where the infant's mother positively identified Tanyanyiwa at a formal identification parade.