Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
A MAN from Kadoma will serve four years in jail after fatally stabbing his cousin during a mine dispute, an act the court found to be self-defence but excessive in its execution since the accused kept stabbing even after he had disarmed and immobilised his attacker.
On January 17 last year, at Village 6 in Muzvezve, Sanyati, Samson Katsuro (51), stabbed his cousin, Peter Katsuro, multiple times with a Colombian knife, killing him.
Peter had been chasing Samson, who had initially tried to flee.
After a full trial, Justice Philda Muzofa ruled that Samson acted under unlawful attack but used disproportionate force, shifting the charge from murder to culpable homicide.
The court heard that Samson, being older and physically outmatched by his younger cousin, attempted to escape but was overtaken. Exhausted and unable to continue running, he confronted the attacker.
The judge acknowledged that disarming Peter was necessary to save himself but found that Samson’s actions went beyond self-defence.
Once Peter was disarmed, Samson continued to stab him repeatedly, inflicting fatal injuries even after the threat had been neutralised.
Justice Muzofa sentenced Samson to five years in prison, with one year suspended for three years on condition of good behaviour, recognising that while the situation called for self-preservation, the manner in which Samson acted was not justified.
The court said the harm inflicted after disarming Peter was unnecessary and excessive, as the repeated stabbings, particularly to Peter’s lower body, suggested an overreach in response to the attack.
The sequence of events leading to the fatal encounter remained murky.
Testimonies from three eyewitnesses, including the deceased’s brother, were riddled with contradictions, rendering their accounts unreliable.
The investigating officer’s evidence also failed to clarify how the fight began.
In the absence of consistent testimony, the court leaned on Samson’s version of events, corroborated by evidence that he had been injured and immediately reported the incident to the police.
Medical reports confirmed Samson sustained a stab wound to his stomach during the altercation.
Justice Muzofa acknowledged the complexities of the case, stating that the judgment was based solely on the evidence presented, though much remained unspoken.
