By Staff Reporter
HARARE — Former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) senior adviser and Bikita West MP Dr Munyaradzi Kereke, who was later convicted of raping his 11-year-old niece, has died aged 54.
Kereke died early Tuesday at The Avenues Clinic in Harare after suffering a stroke.
He had been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit before his death.
Family representatives confirmed his death in a brief statement and said funeral arrangements would be announced in due course.
Once a prominent figure in Zimbabwe’s financial and political circles, Kereke was head-hunted from Stanbic Bank to serve as a senior strategic adviser to then RBZ governor Gideon Gono.
During his time at the central bank, he accumulated considerable wealth, including more than 10 upmarket houses, several of them mansions.
At the height of his prominence, Kereke had four wives, several children, luxury vehicles and homes in some of Harare’s affluent suburbs.
His relationship with Gono later deteriorated in a highly publicised fallout, while Kereke also became embroiled in disputes with senior politicians, including former vice-president Joice Mujuru.
Kereke entered politics under the Zanu PF banner and won the Bikita West parliamentary seat in the 2013 elections.
His political career effectively ended after he was convicted in 2016 of raping his 11-year-old niece at gunpoint.
The case became notable as Zimbabwe’s first high-profile private prosecution after the state Prosecutor-General initially declined to prosecute.
Lawyer Charles Warara led the private prosecution.
Kereke was sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison but was released on bail in 2021 pending the outcome of his appeal.
That legal battle ended in May 2024 when the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in its entirety and ordered him to return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
He suffered a stroke shortly after returning to custody and was subsequently admitted for medical treatment before his death on Tuesday.
