A man is imprisoned for murdering his girlfriend in a jealous rage

A jealous boyfriend who brutally murdered his partner after mistakenly believing she was having an affair has been jailed for life.

Tanaka Zivanai, 32, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years and 10 months at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday.

Zanele Sibanda, 28, was attacked in the street in the early hours of August 27 in Tredworth, Gloucestershire, in front of many shocked onlookers.

A post-mortem examination found the mother-of-two died from multiple stab wounds to the head, throat, body and hands.

Robin Shellard, prosecuting, said the killing was the culmination of an argument which had begun the previous evening, in which the defendant accused his partner of cheating.

“Tanaka Ziwanai killed her partner Zanele Sibanda on the streets of Gloucester in front of a number of members of the public after showing signs of jealousy, accusing her of infidelity and arguing with her,” he told the court.

“He brutally attacked her with a knife he had brought with him from home, leaving her with multiple stab wounds, which resulted in her dying at the scene.”

The court heard that the Zimbabwean defendant and Ms Sibanda, who was from South Africa, came to the UK separately in 2023, but began a relationship after getting jobs as staff.

They moved into a flat in Tredworth together, where neighbors often heard the man screaming and the woman crying.

On one occasion, the neighbors heard the defendant shouting, accusing her of sleeping with someone else.

On another occasion Ms Sibanda was visiting a friend when the defendant called her and shouted: “I will kill you if you come here, don’t come back to this house”.

On the evening of the murder, video surveillance in the local area captured a man and a woman shouting in the street and often returning to a neighboring apartment.

After a short time, the neighbors heard the woman screaming and saw the man on his knees, pleading with him: “Wake up, get up, get up.”

“Another neighbor called the police when he saw the man with his hand over the woman’s mouth and then repeatedly stabbing her,” Mr Shellard said.

“He told how the defendant started cutting himself.

“His brother also saw the attack and heard the argument about the visa and the woman saying how she was going to get him to come home.”

Det Ch. Inway Wayne, from Gloucestershire Police, said: “We suspect that Ziwanay experienced his status in the UK which led him to carry out this savage and deliberate act of extreme violence.

“I welcome the sentence handed down by Zivanaya and hope that Zanele’s loved ones can now find some closure as they try to rebuild their lives without her.”

Speaking outside court, Nonbanyiso Tshuma said she had always imagined she first came to the UK to attend her sister’s graduation – not her murder trial.

“A two-year-old and a nine-year-old today have to live without a mother because of another, it’s such a heartbreak,” she said.

“Zivanai doesn’t even show any signs of remorse. That’s hard to swallow.”

“Horrible Murder”

Sentencing Zivanay to prison, Judge William Hart said: “You were angry and aggressive and she was cowed by your behaviour.

“You seem to have become convinced that she is in some form of relationship, possibly with another person.

“It was, so far as the evidence shows, an entirely unfounded suspicion, and this form of jealousy appears to have been a feature of much of your relationship.

“The circumstances of this poor young woman’s murder were horrific,” he added.

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