CRIME & COURTS | TRAGEDY & CLOSURE "She Left a Big Void": Slain MSU Student Le...
"She Left a Big Void": Slain MSU Student Lesedi Nkomo Laid to Rest as Family Debunks Killer Ex-Husband's Claims
Written By: Crime & Courts Desk | Published: October 16, 2026 | 4 min read
Exactly one week after she was brutally gunned down at her off-campus boarding house in Gweru, slain Midlands State University (MSU) student Lesedi Nkomo was laid to rest at Luveve Cemetery in Bulawayo. The emotional send-off was marked by profound grief, touching tributes, and a fierce defense of her character by a family determined to clear her name.
As scores of relatives, friends, and church members gathered at her family home in Pumula South to bid the 25-year-old fourth-year Psychology student farewell, her family took the opportunity to firmly dismiss malicious social media rumors regarding her financial relationship with her killer. Meanwhile, her ex-husband and murderer, Godknows Muleya, who recently committed suicide, awaits his own burial in Beitbridge.
A Heartbreaking Farewell
The community of Pumula South came to a standstill as mourners converged to honor the life of a bright young woman whose future was stolen. Nkomo was a Level Four, First Semester student at MSU, actively pursuing her Honours Degree in Psychology when her life was violently interrupted.
Silencing the Trolls
In the wake of the murder, toxic social media rumors circulated suggesting that 30-year-old Godknows Muleya had been funding Nkomo's university education, a narrative often weaponized to victim-blame women in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases. The family categorically dismantled these claims.
The Financial Truth
A family spokesperson, speaking anonymously, stated firmly: “Lesedi’s parents were the ones who were paying her school fees, not the untruthful information that is being peddled on social media.”
The relative revealed that the relationship had completely dissolved prior to the murder. “At the height of it, Muleya and his emissaries had to bring her back to her parents. We had to give him back his money, US$700, for ukangaziwe (the bride-price introduction fee).”
The Coward's End
While Lesedi Nkomo rests in Bulawayo, her killer is expected to be buried at his rural home in Beitbridge. Godknows Muleya, the director of a Bulawayo-based security company, was found dead last Saturday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the forehead at a guest lodge in Chiredzi. Police recovered a pistol, a magazine containing three rounds, and a spent cartridge.
Gossip Maestro - Crime Analysis
The Toxicity of Victim-Blaming:
The tragic death of Lesedi Nkomo highlights a deeply disturbing trend in Zimbabwean society: the immediate social media impulse to victim-blame women who die at the hands of violent partners. The baseless rumor that Muleya was paying her school fees was a deliberate attempt to frame the murder as a "crime of passion" triggered by financial betrayal. The family’s swift correction—confirming they paid her fees and even refunded his ukangaziwe money—is a necessary, powerful defense of her dignity.
The Cowardice of the Killer:
Godknows Muleya’s actions represent the absolute extreme of coercive control. When he could no longer control Nkomo—evidenced by the formal return to her parents and the severing of traditional ties—he chose to execute her. By terrorizing innocent students, locking them in a room with a corpse, and fleeing to ultimately commit suicide, he evaded the earthly justice he so desperately deserved, leaving two families permanently shattered and an infant without parents.
A University in Mourning:
As Lesedi Nkomo is laid to rest, the Midlands State University community must grapple with the profound trauma left behind. The psychological scars borne by the four students locked in that room will last a lifetime, demanding urgent and sustained counseling interventions from the institution.
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