UK: Murdered Craig was paying fees for children in Zimbabwe – family

By Staff Reporter

UNITED KINGDOM: Fatal assault victim Craig Maposa was paying school fees for children in the Zimbabwean village where he was born, his family revealed following the sentencing of his attackers.

Maposa, 26, had been on a night out with friends in Leicester, when he was attacked at about 05:40 on 5 August last year.

He died in hospital a few days later as a result of head injuries.

Brothers Blessing and Brendon Mukunguruste, 27 and 31 respectively, were last Friday jailed for four and a half years at Leicester Crown Court after admitting manslaughter.

Maphosa’s family said their lives had been “irreparably changed and damaged” in a statement released after the sentencing.

“The pain of losing Craig is so unbearable to everyone that was blessed to have known him for his 26 years on this earth. Craig was a remarkable person who treated everyone with love and kindness and it is so sad he did not get this in return,” read the statement.

“Craig’s passing has had a massive impact on our lives. We are truly devastated and miss him so much. We miss his quirky sense of humour, his dances, his cheeky smile and his huge presence. We miss witnessing the fulfilment he found in everyday life and his faith.”

Described by his family as a “loving and caring man”, Maphosa moved to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2009 at the age of eleven but never forgot where he came from.

“He (Craig) had visions for the future but never forgot his past. He was not only working to take care of his us, his family, but he was also paying the school fees for five of the children who live in the village he was born,” the family said.

“Everything in our lives is now measured as having taken place either before or after Craig died, such as the trauma of his death. To have him taken from us means we grieve doubly for him.

“We grieve the hole his death has left, and we grieve the future that was taken from him. We have been robbed of ever seeing Craig get married and having children of his own. Our lives have been irreparably changed and damaged.”

Leicestershire Police said tragedy struck after an argument occurred between Maposa and the Mukungurutse brothers after leaving a city nightclub.

The defendants attacked the Maposa, punching him to the floor and knocking him unconscious.

The pair then dragged the victim out of the road, leaving him alone on the pavement, before leaving the scene.

Police said Maposa regained consciousness a short time later and was helped by a member of the public, who walked with him towards Gravel Street.

A taxi took him to his home address where he was found unresponsive the following day.

Maposa was taken to hospital and tests found he had a large bleed on his brain. He was pronounced dead on 7 August.

Detectives from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit murder investigation team identified the brothers as being involved in an altercation with Maposa and they were arrested.