Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
A 30-YEAR-OLD woman from Ntabazinduna was sentenced after a shocking attack on her mother with a machete during a bitter fight over a child’s birth certificate.
Aydah Tshuma flew into a rage on 4 July when her mother, Reginah Tshuma (58), could not produce the birth certificate for Aydah’s daughter. The document was urgently needed after the child had reportedly been sexually abused, and Aydah wanted to take legal action.
Earlier in the day, Aydah told her three children to pack their bags, announcing they were leaving their grandmother’s home. Later that night, after supper, she demanded the birth certificate again. When her mother insisted she didn’t have it and told her daughter to search the house, Aydah lost control.
She sent the children to bed, stepped outside, and returned wielding a heavy machete. Reginah tried to shield her head and neck, but Aydah swung the weapon, slicing both her mother’s hands. The attack fractured Reginah’s right wrist, leaving the bone protruding.
Bleeding and in agony, Reginah called out to her grandchildren, who ran to fetch a neighbour. The neighbour rushed to help and alerted police.
In court, Magistrate Taurai Manuere told Aydah, “The weapon you used was dangerous. You put too much force into it, and it was a fatal blow.”
Aydah replied, “I had not intended to kill her; I only wanted to inflict pain.”
Manuere found her guilty of assault but cleared her of attempted murder. She was sentenced to 24 months in prison, with six months suspended on condition of good behaviour, leaving an effective 18 months behind bars.
