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OpenZRP Given Seven-Day Ultimatum To Explain Death Of Detective Cassandra Hove
The family of Detective Constable Cassandra Hove, a Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer who was shot dead on March 6 while reportedly chasing armed robbers, has protested the secretive and unprofessional handling of her death.
Cassandra’s father, Chikauriso Hove, has hired lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to help the family seek justice.
On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, ZLHR sent a letter of complaint to the Officer In Charge at ZRP Bulawayo Central Police, giving the police a seven-day deadline to provide clear details about the circumstances surrounding Cassandra’s death. The ZLHR said in a statement:
The letter was also served on the Officer In Charge at Pumula Police Station, the Officer Commanding Bulawayo Province, ZRP Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Hon. Kazembe Kazembe.
In the letter, Hove protested against the opaque and unprofessional manner in which the death of her daughter was being handled by ZRP.
Hove said he is aggrieved and pained by the conduct of ZRP, her deceased daughter’s employer, that she served diligently and dearly with her life, which had a duty to protect her, but was not forthcoming with sharing information to the family surrounding the circumstances which led to Cassandra’s death, which should help the grieving family to find closure.
The Hove family is upset because they are receiving second-hand information and delayed updates about Cassandra’s case through unofficial channels.
Recently, the family learned that a police officer had reportedly confessed to killing their daughter. The ZLHR said:
Hove said Cassandra’s family is greatly concerned about the allegations that she may have met her fate at the hands of one of her colleagues.
In addition, Hove said Cassandra’s family is alarmed at the allegations raised about the conduct of one Lethokuhle Sibanda, who later on was known to be a colleague of the deceased law enforcement agent operating in the same unit with the late police officer, and who had reportedly completed some forms authorising the carrying out of a post-mortem on the body of the deceased person without consulting his family.
Hove also stated that his family had been advised that sometime after Cassandra had been shot, the same Sibanda had visited the deceased person’s residence, where she found the late law enforcement agent’s children and demanded certain information pertaining to her residential properties and demanded her mobile phones but her children refused to comply after getting guidance from their relatives.
Cassandra’s father added that Sibanda received R3,000 from residents of Luveve suburb in Bulawayo to contribute to Cassandra’s funeral. However, the money was not given to the family, which has raised concerns.
Hove also said the family had been informed that a suspect named Fikile Ncube was arrested by ZRP officers on the night of Cassandra’s death in connection with the case. However, this information was not officially shared with the family or relatives. Said the ZLHR:
On 8 March 2025, Hove said he attended a meeting together with his relatives with the Officer In Charge of CID Homicide in Bulawayo and other ZRP officials, where he was informed that the preliminary findings were that his daughter had been shot by a police issued firearm contrary to what the family had been told before and efforts to get full information as to what could have happened to his daughter were futile as the ZRP officials were not forthcoming.
Hove said Cassandra’s family had after much deliberation, reluctantly agreed to take her body as it was to be buried in Mberengwa while the family was promised by ZRP officials that they will be kept updated on the progress of investigations about her death.
After Cassandra’s burial on March 10 in Mberengwa, Hove said the family filed a murder case at ZRP Pumula Police Station on March 13, 2025, because they had not received any communication from the police and wanted answers about the incident.
A police officer accused of fatally shooting Detective Hove appeared in court on Tuesday, March 18, facing a murder charge.
Constable Nomore Muradzikwa, 37, from Hillside Police Station, was brought before Bulawayo Magistrate Maxwell Ncube.
He was not asked to plead and was told to apply for bail at the High Court. Muradzikwa, represented by Tinashe Tashaya of Sengweni Legal Services, was remanded in custody until April 1.
The prosecution, led by Nkanyezi Xaba, claimed that Muradzikwa fired at Fikile Ncube, a robbery suspect being investigated by CID Homicide, using a CZ pistol (serial number BSAP 44).
The shot allegedly hit Ncube on the left elbow, and the bullet ricocheted, striking Hove in the left breast, leading to her death.
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