Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
A riveting biography of a Mvurwi man who was saved from the hangman’s noose and eventually pardoned for murder is set to be released this month.
After being convicted of murder at 21 years, Godden Matanga was miraculously handpicked and his sentence was committed to life imprisonment after 11 years on death row.
“I committed the offence at 20 and was sentenced to death in 2001 at 21 years old. I was the youngest death row inmate by that time, with 50 other inmates. I lived in fear panic and anxiety. I did not even know when I would be hanged,” Matanga said.
For Matanga, being saved from the jaws of death for a murder he had committed during a robbery was nothing short of a miracle.
But more was still to come as he was freed from prison after serving nine years of his life sentence and a total of 20 years imprisonment.
Matanga has since dedicated his life to Jesus Christ and he intends the world to know about this through his biography penned by Ndakaiteyi Magunda-Siriya, a Canadian-based author.
“When I was released in 2021, I wanted people to know about my story and I got help as I was linked to someone who wanted to write her first book.” He said.
The Christian book titled: ‘Handpicked, The Godden Matanga Story,’ hopes to inspire people who have done wrong in society that they can start over after being convicted of a crime and that God forgives sin.
Set for launch on April 26 in Harare, the book also reveals the cruelty of the death penalty as well as delving into forgiveness and reconciliation issues.
