adminShamiso Dzingire Court Reporter
A 36-YEAR-OLD woman has been sentenced to 15 days in prison for sending an insulting message over her mobile phone. Siphosisile Mpala of Cowdray Park suburb appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Charity Maphosa on Tuesday facing a charge of contravening the Telecommunications Act. The magistrate gave Mpala an option to pay a $20 fine which she was supposed to deposit with the Clerk of court before 4PM yesterday or face jail.
Mpala admitted to sending an insulting message but denied sending it to Nyengeterai Mashungu of the same suburb.
She said: “Your worship I did send the message but I didn’t send it to her (Mashungu). I sent the message to her husband because I recognised his number. Mashungu forwarded the message to her phone and reported me to the police.”
Mpala said someone kept calling her using Mashungu’s husband’s number and when she called back, the person on the other end would hang up. She said she ended up getting angry and sending the insulting message.Mpala pleaded for leniency, saying there is an ongoing feud between her and the complainant. The feud was not disclosed in the court.
The prosecutor, Wayne Chinembiri said on May 31 this year at around 4PM, Mpala sent a message to Mashungu in which she called her a “dog”.
Online Reporter